THE 

IDEAL 

CHURCH 




Book /-^ c f 

Copyright}! 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 




WjVI. 1 I. ZWEIZIG. 



THE IDEAL CHURCH 



WRITTEN BT 

REV. WILLIAM H. ZVE1ZIG 



AWAKE, AWAKE; PUT ON THY STRENGTH, ZION; PUT ON THY 
BEAUTIFUL GARMENTS, O JERUSALEM THE 
HOLY CITY.-Isriah 52:1. 



1905 

DAILY REPUBLICAN PRINT 
FOTTSl/ILLE, Pfl. 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies rtecawi 

MAY 1 1^5 
CopyruEM tniry 

CU*& XXc'Nw 
//¥>3*3 

COPY 3. 



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"What kind of a church would our church be, 
If every member were just like me?" 



Copyright T905, 
Bv the Author. 



Copies of "The Ideal Church" cau be procured 
by sending to M. K. Zweizig, 501 North 12th Street. 
Reading, Pa. Price — Cloth bound, 75 cents ; Paper 
cover, 50 cents, postpaid. 



PREFATORY NOTE. 



Although this book has been written within a few 
months, yet its subject matter has been on my mind and 
heart for some years. 

Coming in contact with so much spiritual indifference 
and indolence during my pastoral experience, my soul has 
longed for an ideal church as the hart panteth after the 
water brooks, and as the weary traveler on the desert un- 
der a scorching sun longeth for an oasis. 

That the Church may receive the refreshing showers 
of divine blessing and grace, and enjoy the sunshine of 
God's presence and power, and go forth upon a still 
greater career of usefulness for Christ and humanity, is the 
ardent wish and earnest prayer of the author. 

W. H. ZWEIZIG. 

Oct. t8, 1904. 



SYMPOSIUM 



I. — THE IDEAL CHURCH AND REFORM. 

S. C. Swallow, D. D., Editor of Pennsylva- 
nia Methodist, Harrisburg, Pa. 

II. — THE IDEAL CHURCH AND BIBLE STUDY. 

Chas. Roads, D. D., General Field Secre- 
tary of the Sunday School Union of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. 

I II. — THE IDEAL CHURCH AND SOCIETY. 

Rev. William Powick, member of the Phila- 
delphia Conference of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church. 

IV. — THE IDEAL CHURCH AND FINANCE. 

Rev. R. H. Crawford, member of the Phila- 
delphia Conference of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church. 

V. — TDEAL EDUCATION. 

Prof. M. K. Zweizig, Reading, Pa. 



THE IDEAL CHURCH AND REFORM. 



BY REV. S. C. SWALLOW, D. D. 



EDITOR OF "THE PENNSYLVANIA METHO- 



DIST," HARRISBURG, PA. 




■ c jf\ XE naturally inquires, has there 
if|3 ever been anywhere, at any 
time, in all these nineteen 
hundred years an ideal church? 
Whose idea should be the standard? 
is the next inquiry. And has there 
at any time been any improvement 
on the church as established bv the 



Master Builder, or continued under the deft touch of 
Paul, the greatest genius in missionary effort and achieve- 
ment the world has ever known? 

: These questions are not as easily answered as at first 
sight might be supposed. The poverty of the early church, 
as contrasted with its immense wealth at the dawn of the 
twentieth century ; the giving of millions now and the re- 
tention of more millions by the givers, as compared with 
the giving of worn-out boats and nets, the all of the primi- 
tives ; as well as the scriptless, staffless, coatless, money- 
less journeyings then, as compared with the plethoric 
equipment of church workers now, leaves much to be 
said and little to be settled on both sides. 

The widow's mite was more than the millions of the 



6 



rich. The greatest in His kingdom are those who serve 
most. This being the standard set up by Him whose - 
ideals are our guide in determining spiritual weights and 
measures, we must conclude that the average church of 
today is little more than a pious club, joined because it is 
the respectable thing to do. Membership in it furnishes 
mental pabulum, social distinction, prevention of moral 
decadence, and an insurance policy for the life to come 
' provided," as too many feel, "there be a life to come," 
while at the same time it insures the best possible material 
conditions to the individual, the family, and the commu- 
nity in the life that now is. 

"All things in common" was the ideal of apostolic 
times. "Every man for himself and the devil take the hin- 
dermost" would seem at first sight the prevailing condi- 
tion of to-day. But if so, and as a result there are great 
accumulations of money from commercial ventures in 
which "diamond cut diamond" is the watchword ; great 
development of physical strength through athletic disci- 
pline ; great treasuries of knowledge, the teachings of the 
richly caparisoned schools, colleges and universities ; and' 
a great dead sea of spiritual stagnation, the product of the 
pulpit, the Sunday school, the Young People's society and 
the religious press ever pouring into human souls, from 
which comparatively little is drawn out for the enrichment 
of the world ; yet who but admires even the seemingly 
small but really magnificent giving of money, strength, 
time and self that characterizes the beginning of the 
twentieth century as compared with all other centuries, 
except perhaps, the first half of the first century? 

Millions are yearly being laid upon the altar of offer- 
ing, and men and women are "presenting their bodies" in- 
cluding, all they have and are, "a living sacrifice" for the 
service of others, and thus by serving the "least of Christ's 



7 

Brethren," they are serving Him. It goes without saying 
that the freeness of the giving is by no means in propor- 
tion to the freeness with which the donors have received 
of God's ceaseless bounty. 

The Ideal Church has no need of reform within itself. 
It is reformed, and can and should devote all its time and 
energies to the reform of that which is without. It is 
intensely interested in bringing all human laws into har- 
mony with God's law. It is bent on creating social and 
governmental environments that in the language of Mr. 
Gladstone, "renders it hard for men to do wrong and easy 
for them to do right." It recognizes neither distinction 
nor difference between secular and sacred, for all things 
are of God and hence all things material, intellectual, 
moral or spiritual are sacred. 

To the Ideal Church "all power" wherever found "is 
of God," and is to be utilized for his glory, and for the 
greatest possible good to the greatest possible number of 
those redeemed by the blood of His Son. 

The Ideal Church is perpetually a revival church. It 
stands for the Bible and its teachings, in the life of the in- 
dividual, in the home, in the school, and as the statute 
book of the realm. 

It stands for better relations between capital and la- 
bor ; for improving the conditions of the industrial classes ; 
for freedom of speech and of the press and of the people, 
without reaching a license that eliminates freedom ; for 
higher education of body, mind and soul ; for refinement 
without prudery ; economy without miserliness ; liberality 
without prodigality ; and for a better world here and now, 
as well as for citizenship in the best of all worlds here- 
after. 

When the Ideal Church shall have become the univer- 



8 



sal church, let us hope and believe that Defoe's lines will 
be a universal fiction, for he wrote — 

"Wherever God erects a house of prayer, 
The Devil always builds a chapel there; 

And 'twill be found upon examination, 
The latter has the largest congregation." 

The Ideal Church members will all study the Bible 
devotionally rather than critically; "go into the closet 
regularly, and shut the door;" have family worship even 
though the morning potatoes and pancakes chill ; prefer 
the prayer meeting to the 1 lodge room ; pray with eyes : 
open and vote that way too ; keep the left hand in ignor- 
ance of the almsgiving, of the right hand ; not do others as 
they are done by them, but do unto them as they would 
be done by them. In short, they will not forget that they 
are "living epistles" read by multitudes of people who 
never open their Bibles, but whose estimate of Christ is 
determined by their estimate of his professed followers. 
They practice more than they preach ; are short on lip and 
cheek, and long on love and life. 

To the members of the Ideal Church, obedience is 
the only organ of spiritual knowledge ; hence they "do His 
will that they may know of the doctrine," 



THE IDEAL CHURCH AND BIBLE 
STUDY. 



BY REV. CHARLES ROADS, D. D. 



GEN'L FIELD SEC, S. S. UNION OF THE M. E. 
CHURCH. 



HE modern Sunday School is 
rather a Bible study movement 
for the whole church than the 
>le session of an hour and a half 
ol once a week. 

By the Home Department it or- 
zes systematic Bible study in the 
• nome, and especially for the members 
of the home unable to attend the ses- 
sions of the school. The Ideal Church is made up of 
Christian homes, for the unit of the kingdom of God as 
well as of civilization (which two are one) is the home and 
not the individual. So the church of Christ must organize 
Bible study in the home. 

By the House-to-House visitation of the Sunday 
school movement, the Church for the first time is taking 
the Gospel literally and absolutely to every creature. It 
is done in a business method equal in effectiveness and en- 
terprise to the best the children of this world do, and thus 
at one point reaches Christ's ideal. 

Bible study is to be planned for the whole commu- 




IO 

nity. The visitor to the homes invites to the Bible school, 
and the modern Bible school of the Church is also the 
field of richest evangelistic opportunity. It has almost 
everywhere the largest attendance; the greatest number 
of unsaved people, including children and youth easiest to. 
be won for Christ ; the largest number of personal work- 
ers in most intimate relations to the unsaved; the \york 
centers in Bible study which is always the most helpful 
way of evangelizing. 

The Ideal Church studying the Bible will do it in 
graded studies adapted to every stage of human life. It 
will find it possible to use the same passage of Scripture 
for all grades except the very youngest, but will know how 
to adapt the treatment of the lesson to each grade. The 
child will get the story ; the boy or girl, the details of his- 
tory and interesting adventures ; the youth, their inspir- 
ing ideals ; and the mature adult, their profound religious 
and moral instruction in the same wonderful passage. By 
her trained teachers, the Ideal Church will know the child 
thoroughly as well as the book. 

Bible study by the Ideal Church will be a real co- 
operation of teachers and pupils. The teacher will lecture 
at times when he has entirely new truths or facts to pre- 
sent but will call for all the facts in questions 
subsequently; most of the time he will educate, 
draw out, what he has inspired the pupils to 
search for themselves out of the Bible. He knows that 
expression by the scholar is necessary to complete impres- 
sion by the teacher, and he gives large opportunity for rep- 
etition, recitation, and elaboration by the scholars. 

Bible study is ideal when it leads to personal salva- 
tion and character culture. Such study will analyze and 
synthesize the spiritual truths of the Bible for the relig- 
ious life; it will formulate its ethical principles, discuss, 



T I 



and apply them as related to personal character, business 
methods, society, and politics ; and it will train for service 
of every kind for humanity. 

The best Bible study leads to immediate action ; to re- 
pentance and reformation where there has come conscious- 
ness of sin in the light of the Scriptures ; to wise helping 
of others where new opportunities for usefulness are re- 
vealed ; to purer and nobler feelings and character always. 

Bible truth seeks incarnation in every man. The 
Church in Bible study gives opportunity for such incarna- 
tion by her movements of beneficence, reform, evangeliza- 
tion, and. culture of man in every way. The Ideal Church 
does not shrink from many organizations. She does not 
consider herself equipped for real service for Christ until 
she has systematically provided in every local church for 
all the complex needs of human nature and human so- 
ciety. 

The modern Bible school is most nearly Christlike in 
its provision for earliest childhood. By the Cradle Roll it 
recognizes practically that all children even in infancy be- 
long to Christ. It gives them a place in the Church from 
their birth. It emphasizes also training as well as teach- 
ing. Training is more than teaching, though it includes 
it. To accomplish it, the environment of the school room 
is reconstructed that it may impress and inspire ; the 
teacher in example is made to feel a new and profound re- 
sponsibility, for example trains more than instruction ; and 
the home life every day is influenced in effective co-opera- 
tion with parents. Thus it is initiatory and constructive 
in all that is righteous, and would render unnecessary all 
reform or destruction of evil. 

The Ideal Church in Bible study aims to build the 
kingdom of heaven upon earth, and have God's will real- 
ized here in love and holiness. 



THE IDEAL CHURCH AND SOCIETY 



BY REV. WM. POWICK, 




HE Ideal Church is both Selfial and Social in its aims. 
It has a mission both to the individual and to society. 
^ It seeks the regeneration of society by means of the 
regeneration of the individual. The world is in darkness, 
and Christ said "Ye are its light." Your lamp has been 
lighted not to be segregated from the common walks of life, 
but that from the proper lampstandi it may give light. The 
world is in danger of moral putrefaction, and "ye are its 
salt." But if ye have lost your salty savor, though ye be 
sweet as honey and fragrant as roses, "ye are henceforth 



good for nothing' but to be trodden under foot of men." 
Take heed 1 therefore lest your light be darkness and your 
salt be savorless. 

.The first and paramount duty of the Ideal Church is 
selfial. Self preservation in its largest and truest sense is 
the first law of grace as well as of nature. "Do thyself no 
harm." "Keep thyself pure." "Keep thy heart with all 
diligence." "The wisdom which is from above is first pure, 
then * * * " whatever is needful after that. The cru- 
cial question is not what will happen to this * * that 
* * and the other * * if * * ; but what will hap- 
pen to me, if * * ? We have no responsibility to do 
anything with reference to the weal and woe of society that 
would impair the vigor or defile the purity of the hidden 
man of the heart. If one of two- evils must be chosen, we 
must let others make the choice. We are not called to 
compromise with evil but to- resist it. We are called to be 
saints, not in heaven but on earth. The saints of Rome 
are all dead — they must have been dead at least fifty years 
to be called saints. But the saints of the Bible are on 
earth. They are still clothed with flesh and blood. 
Our citizenship is in heaven, but our saintship is on 
earth. Our real life, its source, inspirations, motives, aims, 
is hid with Christ in God. We take orders from the throne 
and bow to no other master than its occupant. We bear 
in our body the brand of divine ownership, feel in our souls 
the impulses of immortality, and hold in our hand a mort- 
gage on the eternal throne that guarantees a supply for ev- 
ery need and makes us independent of every foe. 

The next duty of the Church 1 is Social. "I pray not 
that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that 
thou shouldest keep them from the evil." "As thou hast 
sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into 
the world." And so we are "laborers together with God," 



H 

and not mere parasites upon him. As Christ revealed to 
a sinful world the glory of God, and was "the express image 
of his person," so the Ideal Church reveals to the same 
world the glory of Christ, and is the incarnation of his 
spirit. It re-echoes his words, exemplifies his teachings, 
reproduces his life. By its sanctified aloofness from every 
appearance of evil, that its good may not be evil spoken of, 
it commands the confidence of men. By its loving sym- 
pathy with every appearance of good it wins their love. 

Of our divine Lord it was said "This man receiveth 
sinners," and, also, that he was "separate from sinners." 
These seemingly contradictory, though perfectly consistent, 
things are true of the Ideal Church. In physical contact 
with every sort of human need, but beyond suspicion of 
every form of complicity with human sin. In the world but 
not of it. Not the water around the ship nor the sin around 
the Church, but that which may be within constitutes the 
peril. 

We need to beware of reproducing a lop-sided Christ. 
He was capable of severity as well as tenderness. To< one 
type of sinners, we hear him say with tears in his voice, 
"Neither do I condemn thee." But she was as truly peni- 
tent as profligate. To another type, proudly arrogant and 
impenitent though reputable and decent, "Ye serpents, ye 
generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of 
hell." It was the same "meek and lowly Jesus" that spoke. 
And so our notions of love must make room for "both the 
goodness and the severity of God." It is expressly declared 
that Paul was full of the Holy Ghost when he set his eyes 
on Elymas, the sorcerer, and said, "O full of all subtility and 
all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all right- 
eousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of 
the Lord?" Acts 13:10. 

Now to what extent it may be wise and proper for 



those who are without the wisdom and spirit of our Lord 
and his Apostles to mechanically repeat their words and 
imitate their deeds in such respects may be an open ques- 
tion ; but it is very clear that social ostracism by saints is 
the penalty inflicted upon sinners by the word of God. "Be 
ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what 
fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and 
what communion hath light with darkness? And what 
concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that 
believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the 
temple of God with idols? * * Wherefore come out 
from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, etc." 
2 Cor. 6:14-17. "And have no fellowship with the unfruit- 
ful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." Eph. 5 :it. 
"I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man 
that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an 
idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner ; with 
such an one no not to eat." 1 Cor. 5:11. "We command 
you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that 
ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh 
disorderly, etc." 2 Thess. 3 :6. "If there come any unto 
you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your 
house, neither bid him God speed: for he that biddeth him 
God speed is partaker of his evil deeds." 2 John 10, 11. 

Now, whatever the Church, as we find it, may think of 
such a law governing the social and fraternal relations of 
churches and individuals, the Ideal Church must accept it 
as the final law on the subject. Our Lord once said, "let 
him be unto thee as a heathen and a publican," — an object 
of true Christian charity and genuine missionary effort, — 
but not therefore a friend or companion. We need to as- 
sert the holy dignity of true and whole-souled and full-orbed 
Christliness. The world recognizes this need even more 
than the Church seems to be aware. We often tremble for 



tS 

the ark of God when it is uncouthly jostled by some 
preacher who has a fashion of blurting out unpalatable 
truth. Official Boards sometimes practically muzzle the 
pulpit in the interest of the treasury, only to find that it is 
the most effective way to cripple the one and empty the 
other ; and at length it is found that in doing so they have 
earned for the Church the contempt of those they intended 
to serve. 

There are often found true and lofty ideals among 
those who fall far beneath them. And if those who are 
straddling the fence that divides right from wrong would 
ask some rumseller, or dancing master, or play-monger 
which side they ought to get down on, it would often appear 
that they have a higher and truer standard for the Church 
than the average church has for itself. The fact is, the 
world expects the Church to be like her Lord and never to 
cringe like a coward nor to compromise like a hypocrite. 
And it is often found to have more patience with the ag- 
gressively faithful, extravagantly consistent and radically 
righteous professor of religion than the Church itself has. 



THE IDEAL CHURCH AND FINANCE. 

BY REV. R. H. CRAWFORD. 




WjSM HE Ideal Church will have no trouble with its finance. 
4 I for the members will have accepted the fact of the 
^ stewardship not only of wealth, but of all money that 
belongs to them. 

John Ruskin in a sarcastic way speaking on the "Para- 
ble of the Talents" in his "True Use of Wealth/' says, 
"There is a saying in all men's mouths that they are the 
stewards of whatever "talents" are intrusted to them. Only 
is it not a strange thing that while we more or less accept 
the meaning of that" saying as long as it is considered in a 
spiritual sense, we never accept its meaning in its own 
terms. In the parable, "money" was given to the servants, 



i8 

see Matt. 25 127 — "Thou oughtest therefore to have put my 
money." — Money was given, but in our spiritual application 
of this, we say "money does not mean money. It means 
wit, intellect, influence in high quarters, in fact everything 
in the world' except money. " And do you not see what a 
pretty and pleasant come off there is by this application? 
It frees us. Of course if we had wit, we would use it for 
the good of our fellows ; of course if we had influence with 
the Bishop, we would use it for the good of the Church ; 
but we have no influence with the Bishop. We have no 
"talents" of any sort or kind. It is true we have a little 
money, but the parable cannot possibly mean anything so 
vulgar as money ; then our money is our own." 

Well it does mean money and it is not our own. It is 
Go-d's, and we are but the stewards to> properly disperse and 
use that money for God, as the parable teaches us, and an 
account of our stewardship will be called for. 

In a recent book, Dr. Josiah Strong declares, "that each 
of the great religious awakenings of the past three centu- 
ries came in connection with the preaching of some neg- 
lected spiritual truth which was precisely adapted to the 
peculiar needs of the times. Two 1 truths that call for pres- 
ent day emphasis are repentance and stewardship." 

The preaching of this latter will be tjhe best way to 
meet and correct the commercialism of the age. There is 
the danger of commercial dry rot in the churches ; and the 
only thing that can save the individual and the church from 
the mammonistic spirit is liberality toward God. 

The work of God is everywhere comparatively speak- 
ing at a standstill for the lack of money. The cry of the 
mission field is the cry of God : "Bring the tithes into the 
store-house and prove me and try me." 

In many places scandalous and unchristian methods 
are resorted to to raise current expenses, — methods which 



caricature the church, and make religion and the church a 
laughing-stock among the worldly, and mantle the cheek:; 
of self-respecting Christians with shame. This is because 
many so-called Christians give nothing, or next to noth- 
ing, while they sing with evident gusto, "Were the whole 
realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small/' 
Their song should be that of the man who boasted that he 
had belonged to the church twenty-five years, and it had 
cost him only twenty-five cents. They should change their 
song, and join him as he sings with eyes closed, when the 
plate is passed, "I am glad salvation's free;" that is true, 
the water of life is free, but understand this — that it costs 
something for the pitcher, etc., in which the water of life 
is brought ; or, as the Scriptures put it, "The laborer is 
worthy of his hire." This the members of the Ideal Church 
will understand, so that all will be willing to contribute 
according to their ability, that the current expenses of their 
church may be fully met. 

Again, in the Ideal Church, the ever-present church 
penny in the collection will be almost unknown. 

Lots of people pay more for their peanuts than they 
do for their religion. They take their peanuts in five-cent 
bags, but their religion in one-cent doses. I hold that it is 
a shame for the average adult to put a cent into a collection 
plate at a regular church service. There may be excep- 
tions, as the very poor; I speak not -of these, nor of the 
children, but of the average church member. It is a shame 
that the pocket should be searched for the smallest coin. 
If we had a half-cent piece, that would be given. In fact 
this throwing in of a cent is not an offering to God at all ; 
it is only to prevent the embarrassment that would result 
from having the plate passed and putting nothing in at all. 
The members of the Ideal Church will give because they 
want to make an offering to God. 

The members of the Ideal Church will a'so be cheerful 



20 

givers. They will not need to be dunned for their contri- 
bution and then, as they give it, talk something about the 
church always begging for money. No ; they will regard 
it not only as a duty but a privilege to give to God who has 
done so much for them. 

They will also be systematic givers. They will not be 
governed by their emotions but by principles. The 
weather, also, will not affect their giving. If absent, with 
any necessary excuse, you can count upon their offering, 
for they always remember that the expenses are going on 
all the time just the same. 

The members of the Ideal Church will also be more 
liberal than the Jews who gave one-tenth ; 'but because they 
are Christians and enjoy more from God, they will give it 
anything more than that. 

Some one may be ready to say, "That was a Mosaic 
ordinance, and is not obligatory on us." We reply, — It 
is not a distinct Mosaic ordinance. Like the Sabbath, it 
was practiced and recognized before the promulgation of 
the Mosaic code. Abraham gave tithes to Melchisedec as 
priest of the Most High. This priest was the type of Him 
who was to come. Shall we give less to our glorious High 
Priest, the fulfiller of the type? (See Hebrews.) 

All the apostles and early disciples were Jews, and had 
undoubtedly given their one-tenth. Would Peter, James, 
John and Paul give less now? To* ask it, is to answer it. 
So we have the best kind of evidence, the strongest pre- 
sumptive evidence, that the practice of the early Church 
was to give at least one-tenth. Paul said, "Lay by in store 
each week as the Lord has prospered you." Now that was 
a sliding scale. But always in a sliding scale there must 
be some unit of measurement. The tithe supplies that, and 
undoubtedly Paul had that in his mind. 

Dr. Locke says, "Let us imagine a case. Suppose a 
faithful Jew had become a convert to Christianity. As a 



/ 2 * 

Jew he was accustomed to paying his tithe. When on that 
first Sabbath after his conversion he assembled with the 
Christians and 'brought his offering- to God, can any one be- 
lieve that this converted Jew' would attempt to justify him- 
self in giving less than he had given when he was a Jew? 
Would not his natural impulse be to add as much more to 
his offering as he felt the new religion to be more valuable 
to him than the old ? Certainly he would not give less when 
his blessings were more !" 

Tithing, then, has the impetus of the Old Testament 
usage and the custom of the early Church, and more, for 
it has a clear word of endorsement from Jesus, "Ye tithe 
anise, mint and cummin. This ye ought to do, etc." 

We find that the history of the early Church supports 
our position on this matter. 

Augustine says, "Tithes should be paid from whatever 
may be your occupation, whether war, merchandise or some 
handicraft. Tithes are required as a debt. God, who has 
given us the whole, has thought it meet to ask the tenth 
from us, not for his benefit, but for our own." 

Similar testimony is given by Origen, Jerome, Am - 
brose and Chrystostom. 

Bingham, in his "Christian Antiquities," speaking of 
the mode of giving as practiced by the early Church says, 
"The giving of the tenth is the unanimous judgment of the 
fathers and the voice of the Christian Church, uncontra- 
dicted for more than a thousand years or until the usages 
of the Church were alienated and perverted by the Papal 
hierarchy during the dark ages." 

John Ruskin, speaking on the subject, said: "Let us 
not lose sight of this broad and unabrogated principle — I 
might say, incapable of being abrogated — so long as men 
shall receive earthly gifts from God. Of all that they have 
His tithe must be rendered to Him, or in so far and in so 
much is He forgotten." 



Bishop McCabe says, "Brethren, this is the path to vic- 
tory. All our troubles will end when we get on the Scrip- 
tural plane. God's way is always the best way. Let us 
fall back upon the divinely-appointed plan of giving every 
tenth dollar to the Lord, and we will be able to take the 
world for Christ." 



IDEAL EDUCATION. 

BY PROF. M. K. ZWEIZIG, READING, PA. 




N ideal system of education will produce a well-pro- 



{HKa% portioned development in moral, mental, and mate- 
rial interests. Such an education is the basis of a true 
civilization. The old Jewish civilization was the best the 
world ever saw, because the moral, mental, and material 
were properly adjusted and blended. The civilization of 
Greece and Rome excelled in mental and material growth, 
but lacked proportionate moral culture, which resulted in 
their national decadence and ruin. The Puritanic civili- 
zation of New England had not enough of mental and ma- 
terial progress to counterbalance its more advanced moral 



2 4. 

clement. This inequality produced bigotry and supersti- 
tion. It is not difficult to see that the civilization of the 
United States is' defective in the preponderance of the men- 
tal and material over the moral. This inequality no doubt 
fosters the prevailing spirit of commercialism, which is so 
detrimental to the best and highest welfare of humanity. 
The best results of education are impossible under a sys- 
tem that almost wholly ignores a child's moral nature un- 
der the mistaken notion that intellectual and industrial de- 
velopment is alone all-important. 

Our system of education needs a large infusion of mor- 
al principle, especially the element of beneficence, as an an- 
tidote to selfishness and its multiplicity of evils. If this 
principle were cultivated as part of our education, it would 
change social conditions. It would solve the labor prob- 
lem. It would abolish the slums. It would relieve human 
suffering in every direction. It would cause a new era to 
dawn upon society. It would make people cease to be 
selfish, cold, distant, and unlovable. Nothing is more fun- 
damental of a good social condition, and nothing is more 
generally disregarded, notwithstanding our boasted ad- 
vancement in Christianity, than the divine precept, "Thou 
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." 

One of the greatest needs of educational reform is a bet- 
ter development of morals and manners. The natural order 
in education is discipline before instruction ; but in many of 
our schools this is reversed, and the results are unfortunate. 
Children grow up well-informed, but unstable in character. 
Immorality and crime are increasing, notably among per- 
sons having a fair common school education. Defaulters 
are multiplying. Dishonesty and deception are of frequent 
occurrence. Political corruption is festering to- the very 
core of our institutions. Fortunately, a restrictive influ- 
ence is exerted upon the growth of these evils by our 



churches and Sunday schools ; but a correct system of pub- 
lic school education will very materially assist in the forma- 
tion of moral character and conduct. 

It is important to use the Bible in schools as a teacher 
of good morals. If we consider what we as a nation owe to 
the Bible, it is certainly entitled to an honored recognition 
in every school-room. 

The idea that the Bible should be excluded from the 
public schools on the assumption that it is a sectarian 
book, is untenable. The Bible among books occupies the 
unique position of a divine revelation. That it is such can - 
not be logically denied. It cannot be placed with mere sec- 
tarian productions. These admit of improvement, which 
proves them human. But the Bible never has been nor can 
be improved, which is a proof of its divinity. 

No liberal education is complete without a knowledge 
of the English Bible, because so much of our literature is 
founded upon or derived from the Scriptures. The Bible 
has given us Milton's Paradise Lost, and Bunyan's Pil- 
grim's Progress ; and without the Bible, Shakespeare's 
works would be deprived of many of their most excellent 
thoughts. 

The Bible should be accorded an equal right in schools 
with the History of the United States, or any other text- 
book in use. It should not only be used for teaching mor- 
als, but also for the study of literature and sacred history. 

In educating the moral sense, teachers or parents should 
be careful not to use a one-sided method. A child's atten- 
tion should not be called continually to actions that are 
wrong, but as frequently to< right actions, that the contrast 
between them may foe marked. 

Attention should early be called to the sensation of 
pleasure that follows right, and the sensation of pain that 
follows wrong; and the child should clearly understand that 



26 



these monitions of conscience are given to keep us from the 
wrong, and to guide us into the right. 

These sensations of pleasure and pain by which the 
normal conscience distinguishes moral actions, are sugges- 
tive of the disciplinary means to be used in securing the 
child's adoption or rejection of one of two opposites, 
namely, by rewards and punishments, or such mental pleas- 
ures or pains as the teacher or parent may impart by giving 
approbation or reproof. 

Since najture aids in aesthetic and moral development 
by means of intuitions, we infer that these unfoldings of the 
youthful mind are of vital importance, and that primary ed- 
ucation should make a child happy rather than useful. The 
technical or utilitarian part of education is secondary, and 
is evolved later from natural needs. A thorough develop- 
ment of aesthetics and morals should constitute the under- 
lying strata of all intellectual culture. 



I 



THE IDEAL CHURCH 



llpl 



A BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF THE CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I: 

The object of the Ideal Church; the ministry; the 
appointment of pastors ; the time limit ; the mem- 
bership ; organization. 

CHAPTER II : 

Doctrine ; the only rule of faith and practice ; salva- 
tion ; future punishment ; the second coming of 
Christ. 

CHAPTER III: 

Department of Spiritual Work ; the predominant char- 
acteristic ; the Chapter meeting ; the Evangelistic 
meeting; the Pentecostal meeting. 

CHAPTER IV: 

Department of Mercy and Help. Visitation and care 
of the sick ; divine healing ; the payment of sick 
benefits and funeral expenses ; the lodge ; life in- 
surance ; the hospital, orphanage and home for the 
aged. 

CHAPTER V: 

Social Department. Sociability ; music ; good citizen- 
ship ; the liquor traffic ; the theatre, card playing, 
and the dance. 

CHAPTER VI: 

Department of Education and Literature. The church 
periodicals ; the newspaper ; the Sunday paper ; the 
library and reading room ; education ; Bible study ; 
the origin and growth of the Sunday school ; grades 
in the Bible school ; relation of children to the 
Church. 

CHAPTER VII : 

Industrial Department. Corporate greed ; the eman- 
cipation of labor ; co-operation ; the home-building 
fund; a weekly rest day. Finance. The tithing 
system ; the penny collection ; objectionable meth- 
ods of raising money ; the financial grading of min- 
isters. 

Appendix. The Christian Degree. The Warrior Degree, 



THE IDEAL CHURCH 

CHAPTER I. 



f 



OBJECT. 

gHE Ideal Church is Catholic because her mission is 
world-wide, and also Protestant because she pro- 
^ tests against sin wherever found ; but she is not con- 
cerned about the theological discussions of the dim and hazy 
past. 

The Ideal Church lives in the present and seeks to 
meet present emergencies and solve present problems. 

Her aim is to revive the doctrines and practices of the 
early apostolic Church and to apply the teachings of Christ 
to the religious, social, commercial and political life of to- 
day. Her dominant purpose is to promote positive Chris- 
tian character and aggressive Christian service. 

True relig-ion is love, — love to God and love to our fel- 
low man. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and 
with all thy mind ; and thy neighbor as thyself/' Luke, 
10:27. "On these two commandments,'' says Christ, "hang 
all the law and the prophets." Matt. 22 40. 

The first of these commandments has to do mere es- 
pecially with theology; the second, with sociology. For 
many centuries the Church has so emphasized the first and 
neglected the second, that many persons today have a dis- 
torted idea of religion. 

The Ideal Church will go back to the original concep- 
tion of religion as expressed by its great Founder. The 



3° 

Church of Jesus Christ was instituted for the glory of God 
and the welfare of humanity. The mission of the Church 
is to help man in his three-fold nature, — body, mind and 
soul. 

This is clearly indicated by the teachings of the Gos- 
pel, and it is particularly emphasized in the great Commis- 
sion given by Christ which includes : — preaching, or the 
work of evangelization; teaching, or Christian education; 
and healing, which relates to man's physical condition. 

The nearest approach to this method of church work 
is found today in our mission fields, and may not this be 
one reason why the results in mission fields, during recent 
years, have been proportionately greater than at home? 

THE MINISTRY. 

Bishop and elder in the New Testament usage are sy- 
nonymous, the former term used by the Western or Roman 
Christians, and the latter by the Eastern or Jewish Chris- 
tians. In our day, owing to the advantage of a more ex- 
tensive supervision, some churches have appointed general 
superintendents whom it is customary to designate as 
bishops, while the title "elder'' is restricted to the pastor of 
the local church. 

There is no harm in this distinction, provided it is not 
forgotten that the two terms signify no difference of order 
but simply of office, the bishop merely holding a separate 
office with delegated powers for the welfare of the church. 

The duties of a bishop or elder are graphically stated 
by the apostle Peter : — "Feed the flock of Gcd which is 
among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, 
but willingly ; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind ; nei- 
ther as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensam- 
ples to the flock." I Pet., 5 12,3. 

The touching figure of the relations between a shepherd 
and his flock covers all the duties of the ministerial office. 



3* 

The shepherd feeds, guides, and protects his flock. The 
presbyters of the Church must do the same ; they must be 
faithful dispensers of God's holy Word and sacraments; 
they must preach zealously, diligently, as dying men to dy- 
ing men ; they must teach privately, from house to house ; 
they must care for the little ones, the lambs of the flock ; 
they must do their utmost to strengthen the children of 
God and to build them up in the most holy faith. 

They must guide the flock, themselves leading the way, 
setting a holy example, an example of humility, fevent love, 
self-denying zeal. They must do all they can to protect the 
flock from the evil one, — the lion who goeth about seeking 
whom he may devour; they must do their best by constant 
prayer, faithful exhortation, hopeful encouragement, affec- 
tionate warning, fearless rebuke, and the most earnest en- 
deavor, to promote the welfare of the souls committed to 
their charge. 

The work is to be performed "not by constraint, but 
willingly." It is possible to engage in the service of the 
Church by some outside pressure, the influence of friends, 
or the force of circumstances, and not because of a divine 
call, or from a free choice. Such ministers lose the greater 
part of their power for good because their heart is not in 
their work. Their service is to a great extent listless and 
perfunctory; they work for fear of censure, and not for the 
love of souls. The ministry is more than a mere profes- 
sion ; it is a direct and personal summons from God for 
a specific work. 

Another characteristic of the true minister is that he 
works "not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind." Merce- 
nary service can not be profitable to men or acceptable to 
God. Lucre becomes filthy when it is a motive for spiri- 
tual work, and is made the determining consideration in 
the holding of a sacred office. 

The third characteristic mentioned by the apostle is 



3* 

humility, — not lording it over others, but leading them by 
the power of a holy example. Worldly ambitions, and the 
lust of power and pre-eminence are opposed to the Gospel. 
The domineering spirit is contrary to the very nature and 
purpose of the pastoral relation. The elders are to oversee, 
to preside, to lead, but they are not to lord it against the 
rights or interests of the people over whom they are placed. 
On the contrary, they are to "make themselves ensamples 
to the flock." Their ambition is to live what they teach. 
Example is better than precept ; a holy life has more power 
over men than holy words; for a holy life proves with con- 
vincing evidence the presence and energy of the Spirit of 
God. 

The office of deacon as instituted in the primitive 
Church, was primarily intended to relieve the apostles by at- 
tending to the temporal interests of the church, thus en- 
abling them to give their undivided 1 attention to the minis- 
try of the Word and prayer.The deacon therefore is an at- 
tendant or helper to the pastor. 

Instead of regarding the office of deacon as transient, 
and a mere stepping-stone to the higher office of elder, it is 
more Scriptural to regard it as a permanent office in the lo- 
cal church, having specific and very important duties con- 
nected with it. 

The selection of the first deacons in the early Church 
enunciated principles that are of permanent application and 
interest. 

The men selected must be of "honest report." Their 
private character must be such as to win confidence and re- 
spect. Their integrity must be unquestioned. 

They are to be "full of the Holy Spirit." This can best 
be seen in a steadfast Christian experience, an advanced 
Christian knowledge, an unusual prayerfulness, and an in- 
tensely spiritual fervor and activity. 



33 

They are also to be "full of wisdom," that is of prac- 
tical sagacity and skill for the management of the particular 
work to which they are called. Each can serve best in the 
sphere for which natural disposition and divine endowment 
have fitted him. The great qualities needed in church of- 
ficers are goodness and sense. Neither passably good men 
nor merely shrewd men can fulfill the requisite qualifica- 
tions. 

Other offices in the apostolic Church were deaconess, 
and evangelist. 

Deaconess was a special office, designed for caring for 
the sick, the aged, the female poor, and the instruction of 
orphans. 

During recent years, renewed interest has been taken 
in deaconess work. The Ideal Church will take full advan- 
tage of the natural and social adaptation of woman, and en- 
able her to make full proof of her ministry. 

She can accomplish untold good as a Bible-reader, go- 
ing from house to house, speaking words of cheer to the 
discouraged house-wife, and assisting her, especially in the 
management of her children. Who is so capable to nurse 
the sick, to teach children, and to sympathize with woman 
in the cares and trials incident to her life? 

An evangelist is one who proclaims good news. There 
were originally evangelists or preachers who, without being 
fixed to any church, preached wherever they were led by 
the Holy Spirit. Such was Philip. Timothy also was ex- 
horted to ''do the work of an evangelist." 2 Tim., 4:5. 

It is customary in our day for churches to secure the 
services of an evangelist when they contemplate holding 
special meetings for the conversion of sinners. Usually 
great preparations are made for the coming of the evange- 
list, which in itself is a great benefit to any church. The 



t 



34 

meetings very often result in the spiritual uplift of the mem- 
bership, and in the salvation of many souls. 

The evangelist is undoubtedly called of God to a spec- 
ial work for which he is naturally fitted and spiritually en- 
dowed, but there are certain tendencies against which we 
must carefully guard ourselves. 

There is apt to be a spasmodic activity in the church. 
It sometimes happens that when the evangelist is gone, all 
the activity is gone too ; nor should we overlook the fact 
that if the same earnest preparation which heralds the com- 
ing of the evangelist were displayed in the ordinary work 
of the church, we might reasonably expect the same results, 
and the results would be more lasting as there would be less 
danger of a reaction. 

THE APPOINTMENT OF PASTORS. 

The appointment of pastors to the various churches 
will be greatly simplified in the Ideal Church. 

There will be just as many pastors as churches, so that 
every church will have a pastor and every pastor will have 
a church. 

There will be no unseemly scramble after certain 
churches by pastors, or after certain pastors by churches, 
because the financial grading of ministers and churches is 
abolished, which is more fully explained under the subject 
of ''"Finance." The only motive for a pastor or a church 
to desire a change will be to secure an opportunity for bet- 
ter and more efficient service. Such a motive is perfectly 
proper, and would undoubtedly lead to occasional changes. 

The appointments will be largely settled by a mutual 
arrangement between pastors and churches. If several 
churches want the same pastor, let the pastor decide where 
he will go : if several pastors want the same church, let the 
church decide whom they desire. Why not let the pastors 
and churches, who are most nearly concerned in the matter, 



35 

assume the responsibility instead of an outside party who 
may not know the situation, or who may be autocratic in 
his decision? Where no mutual arrangement can be ef- 
fected, then let the bishop be the final court of authority. 

What method could be fairer to both pastors and 
churches ? To place the immense and absolute authority 
of pastoral appointment in the hands of a few men is out of 
harmony with the spirit of the age, and the country in which 
we live. The tendency of the age is toward popular gov- 
ernment. The nations which are ruled by the people are 
the most enlightened and prosperous, and that church can 
come nearest to the people which exemplifies most clearly 
the spirit of true democracy. 

TIME LIMIT. 

Let the pastor be appointed for a year, and re-appoint- 
ed each succeeding year, as long as he and the church are 
happy in their relations and progressive in their work. 

There appears to be no strong logical reason for a 
strict time limit to pastoral service in a church. 

It is said that there is more unrest without the time 
limit, but I hold that the unrest lies principally in the $1,000 
preachers wanting the $1,500 churches, and the $1,000 
churches wanting the $1,500 preachers. Eliminate the 
mighty and magical dollar and much of the unrest would 
cease. 

The time limit is too arbitrary. At the end of the ex- 
pired term the pastor must go. The removal must take 
place without prayer, without thought, without judgment. 

The removal may be very inopportune. It may be in 
the midst of revival, or at a critical moment in an important 
church enterprise. Wherever the limit is placed, the inop- 
portune removal will be the occasional result. 

A brief pastoral term, limited by law, must in the nature 
of the case compel every pastor to surrender that personal 



3« 

influence which is only acquired by intimate acquaintance 
with his people. He can not identify himself with the so- 
cial and political interests of the community. He is looked 
upon more as a visitor than a permanent citizen. 

It is great encouragement for a pastor to fully realize 
the possibilities connected with his own labors, and to build 
on the foundations which his own hands have laid. This 
incentive is more or less precluded by a definite time limit. 

Experience shows that the rule of limitation often 
tempts both pastors and people to protract the term of pas- 
toral service under strained relations and beyond the period 
of usefulness, simply to complete a prescribed term of of- 
fice. 

The absence of the time limit will permit more of a real 
itinerancy where it is needed, and 1 longer pastorates where 
they will best serve the church. It will by no means de- 
stroy the itinerancy, but will merely modify it so as to make 
it natural rather than forced, and rational rather than arbi- 
trary. 

An itinerancy with these modifications is preferable to 
an unlimited settled pastorate. In a pastorate without the 
opportunity for systematic changes, there is frequently a 
long period of strained relations and even factional strife 
before a change can be effected, which is very detrimental 
to both pastor and people. 

THE MEMBERSHIP. 

The visible Church is a congregation oi believers in 
which the Word of God is truly preached, the sacraments 
duly administered, cordial fellowship maintained, and prop- 
er discipline observed. 

In describing the distinctive qualities of the first mem- 
bers of the Christian Church, the inspired writers give us 
a resplendent picture of their faith, their unity, their com- 
munion, their worship, their self-denying charity, and their 



social bliss, which should be a model and inspiration for all 
time to come. 

"And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doc- 
trine and fellowship, and in breaking- of bread, and in pray- 
ers." Acts, 2 42. We have here a fourfold training, each 
part of which is essential to Christian progress. 

First. Instruction in the apostles' doctrine. Chris- 
tianity is a religion based on facts, all of which embody vi- 
tal and eternal truths. The central fact is Jesus Christ him- 
self, in and through whom alone we know the heavenly 
Father. All who own and confess Jesus Christ as Savior 
and Lord, ought to be received into the fellowship of the 
Christian Church. 

The apostles' doctrine was no doubt a vivid portrayal 
of Christ, — his wonderful nature, his beautiful character, 
has unique teaching, his marvelous miracles, his self-deny- 
ing life, his sacrificial death, his triumphant resurrection, 
and how he "hath brought life and immortality to light 
through the Gospel." 2 Tim., 1 :io. 

One of the best marks of a Christian life is the desire 
to learn. Conversion wakes up the mind as well as the 
conscience ; stirs up the dormant intellect as well as the 
slothful spirit. Christianity is the natural ally of education ; 
the foster-mother of the truest science and the ripest learn- 
ing- , 

The second means of edification is Fellowship. Their 
faith had united them in a common experience and a new 
and holier sympathy. Their rule of life, their hopes, their 
aims, were one. They were not troubled with class distinc- 
tions, mutual jealousies and rivalries, personal alienations, 
and doctrinal differences which usually result in disintegra- 
tion and defeat. 

The Church today, through the multiplicity of sects, 
has somewhat lost this unity of thought and action which 



33 

distinguished the early Christians. While the separation of 
the Church of Christ into different denominations may have 
some advantages, yet in many respects it is to be sincerely 
regretted. 

The denominational spirit, unless carefully guarded, is 
apt to engender factional feeling, to detract the attention 
from the supreme purpose of the Church, and to foster a 
desire for party prestige and power. 

In many communities with a limited population, you 
will find half a dozen denominations with virtually the same 
aims, doctrines, and usages, each with only a handful of 
members, and living at a poor dying rate, so that instead 
of presenting a united and aggressive front to the enemy, 
and using their combined forces to promote the kingdom of 
Christ, their greatest concern is to know how to keep alive, 
how to pay the pastor's salary and to meet current ex- 
penses. It is a sad and unnecessary division of influence 
and power, altogether contrary to the spirit and practice of 
the apostolic Church. 

The present revival of sentiment in favor of a closer 
union and a more fraternal spirit among the churches is one 
of the most hopeful signs for a speedy and magnificent 
rally sof all the hosts of God for the conquest of the world. 

The Ordinances are the third means of edification. 
The "breaking of bread," taken in its broader sense may 
denote the love-feasts of the earlier time, but it also de- 
notes the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, with which the 
love-feast was always concluded. Thus the second sacra- 
ment took its place along with baptism in the Christian 
community from the beginning. 

How hallowed is the special communion with our Lord 
at the sacramental table as we commemorate his sufferings 
and death in remembrance of him till he come again. 

The fourth means of edification is Prayer. Social 
gatherings for prayer, as well as private prayer, are here In- 



39 

tended. No church can live, no fellowship can be main- 
tained, no ordinances will speak truth in power to us if we 
are not given to prayer, if we do not by its means keep up 
living and spiritual communion with God. Prayer is at 
once the sign and the means of spiritual life. Hence to be 
"instant in prayer" is one characteristic of a growing 
church. It was a marked feature of the early Christians. 

The strength of a church is in its prayer meeting as 
much as in its pulpit: nay, more so, for unless the church 
waters the seed that is sown, with her ardent tears and 
prayers, it can not germinate and bring forth fruit. 

Here, then, we have the four chief means of Christian 
nurture for all time — apostolic doctrine, fellowship, sacra- 
mental communion, and prayer. A faithful observance of 
these things will produce, as it did in the early Church, — a 
devout spirit, brotherly love, generous giving, joyful wor- 
ship, and continual conversions. 

ORGANIZATION. 

To carry out as nearly as possible the fundamental prin- 
ciples of the apostolic Church, as well as to promote the 
greatest efficiency, and to produce the most practical re- 
sults, the work of the Ideal Church can be divided into five 
separate departments : — Spiritual Work : Mercy and Help : 
Social ; Education and Literature ; and Industrial. Each of 
these departments have important duties which are de- 
scribed in the succeeding chapters. 

The pastor is the general overseer of the church and 
holds the office of elder. 

The chairmen of the different departments are the dea- 
cons of the church. They are the pastor's assistants, and 
constitute his cabinet. They should meet him in frequent 
consultation to discuss the welfare of the church, and to for- 
mulate plans for concerted action and aggressive work. 

In order to procure the most effective pastoral super- 



4° 

vision, and to insure systematic effort, the local church is 
divided into Classes or Chapters. Each deacon has over- 
sight of the members of a chapter, and is the leader of a 
chapter meeting. 

The Chapter is the unit of organization in the Ideal 
Church. Every member of the church is assigned to a 
chapter to which he is amenable for all matters of conduct 
and church obligations. 



CHAPTER II. 



DOCTRINE. 

The Holy Scriptures are the only sufficient rule of faith 
and practice. 

They are the chart by which the Christian sails to eter- 
nity ; the map by which he daily walks; the sun-dial by 
which he sets his life ; the balance in which he weighs his 
actions. 

The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit, the only 
aggressive weapon of the Christian armor, with which he 
beats back the enemy and obtains the victory. 

It is the Christian's unfailing foundation and unerring 
guide. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light 
unto my path." Psa., 119:105. 

Mere creeds and articles of religion are formulated by 
men whose understanding is limited, and whose judgment 
may be perverted ; but this message from God is divine, and 
therefore infallible. 

In all matters of doctrine, then, the Ideal Church will 
be satisfied with nothing less than Scriptural authority. 

The great and cardinal doctrines of salvation, — ruin, 
redemption, and regeneration, — will be clearly and unmis- 
takably preached. 

SALVATION. 

By nature, man is depraved. "The carnal mind is en- 
mity against God." Rom., 8:7. The natural man is de- 
scribed as dead in trespasses and sin ; not merely sick, or 
faint, or grown callous and hardened and seared, but abso- 
lutely dead, Whatever that term "death" signifies in ref- 



4 2 

erence to the body, it also means in reference to the soul. 
When the body is dead it is powerless; it is unable to do 
anything for itself : and when the soul of man is dead, in a 
spiritual sense, it is utterly helpless and unable to do any- 
thing of itself or for itself. 

The drift of the Gospel is. that man is dead in sin, and 
that divine life is God's gift ; and you must go contrary to 
the whole of that drift, before you can suppose a man 
brought to know and love Christ, apart from the work of 
the Holy Spirit. 

Conscience and memory prove undeniably that Ave 
have violated the commandments of God and transgressed 

o 

his holy law. Both our observation and experience assure 
us of the veracity of the third chapter of Genesis. The de- 
generacy of the race has been manifest in every age and at 
every place. "All we like sheep have gone astray.'' Isa.. 
53 :6. "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive our- 
selves, and the truth is not in us." I John. I :8. 

Xot only is man conscious of the stern fact of his guilt, 
but he is also confronted with the inexorable justice of 
God. who says, "The soul that sinneth. it shall die."' Ezek., 
18:4. "The Lord God. * * * that will by no means 
clear the guilty." Exod., 34:7. "The wages of sin is 
death." Rom.. 6 123. 

God in his infinite love has devised a plan of salvation 
whereby his justice can be vindicated and yet his mercy be 
triumphant. He "so loved the world, that he gave his only 
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not 
perish, but have everlasting life." John. 3:16. 

There is an all-sufficient atonement for sin made 
through the life, sufferings, and death of Jesus Christ. 

Blessed be God for a salvation commensurate with the 
ruin of the fall, and adequate to the spiritual wants of our 
common humanity ! There is nothing scanty about the pro- 
visions of divine grace. It is not a little pool, a narro\y 



43 

stream, a shallow brook, but a mighty rolling river, ever 
flowing onward, increasing in volume, widening its banks, 
and scattering blessings wherever it goes. The Gospel of 
Jesus Christ can satisfy the intense yearning and the earn- 
est longing of the human soul. 

The poor sinner, realizing his condition, coming to 
Jesus in sincerity and faith, and accepting him as his Sa- 
vior, shall receive the blessed assurance that his sins are 
pardoned, that he is adopted into the divine family, and 
that he has become an heir of God unto eternal life. His 
darkness is turned into light, his night into day, his mourn- 
ing into rejoicing, and his despair into hope. 

The prison is opened, the shackles of sin are broken, 
the awful burden of guilt is removed, and he is privileged 
to rejoice in the God of his salvation. 

The conditions of salvation are repentance toward God, 
and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Repentance is indicated not only by a godly sorrow 
on account of sin but also by a forsaking of sin and a sin- 
cere turning to God. "He that covereth his sins shall not 
prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall 
have mercy. " Prov., 28:13. 

True repentance extends to every known sin, however 
fashionable, pleasing, desirable or remunerative it may ap- 
pear to be. It includes a complete reformation of conduct. 

It extends also to the heart as well as the practice. An 
unclean stream betrays a polluted fountain. The cry of the 
sincere penitent is — "Create in me a clean heart, O God; 
and renew a right spirit within me." Psa., 51 :io. 

It is not prompted merely by the fear of punishment, 
but it is an intense sorrow for sin as committed against God 
who is infinitely good and loving, to whom we owe our 
very being, and who bestows upon us every blessing that 
vve enjoy. "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and 



44 

done this evil in thy sight." Psa., 51 14. "How then can 
I do this great wickedness and sin against God." Gen., 
39 '9- 

The other essential condition of salvation is faith. 

Faith is made up of knowledge, belief and trust. We 
must know the Gospel; we must believe that Christ came 
into the world to save sinners ; we must exercise an implicit 
trust in him, and place our entire reliance upon him for sal- 
vation. "For by grace are ye saved through faith ; and 
that not of yourselves ; it is the gift of God." Eph., 2 :8. 

True faith is indicated by holiness of heart and life. 
Holiness is not to be the possession of a few who profess to 
be sanctified by a second or separate blessing, but it must 
be the possession of every follower of Christ, for "without 
holiness no man shall see the Lord." Heb., 12:14. 

FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 

The attitude of the Church towards the doctrine of fu- 
ture punishment has changed very materially during re- 
cent years. There are difficulties connected with the doc- 
trine from whatever side you view it. 

The question is frequently asked, why did God create 
man, forseeing, as he must have done, the immortalization 
of sin and rebellion in the universe, and the unmitigated 
pangs of eternal suffering for millions of the race ? The 
old answer that it is for the glory of God does not appear 
to be sensible or satisfactory. 

It is within the range of possibility that the Church of 
the future will incline towards a belief in "Conditional Im- 
mortality" as the best solution to this intricate problem, lay- 
ing special stress on the eternal life of the believer and the 
eternal deprivation of the sinner. There are many state- 
ments in the Scriptures which seem to substantiate this be- 
lief, and the future unfolding of interpretation may bring 
the Bible more and more into harmony with this idea, 



45 

The late bishop John P. Newman, discussing this sub- 
ject in the "Methodist Review" of May, 1892, said, — "What 
ends of justice are involved in the deathless consciousness 
of sin and misery, of rebellion and torment, of rejection and 
loss to such a spirit! The old world was destroyed; Sodom 
was consumed ; Jerusalem was left a desolation ; and the 
mightiest empires, whose cup of iniquity was full, have 
passed from the vision of the world. Why not the cessa- 
tion of the existence of the incorrigible soul? Will a 
dearer and better exegesis of Scripture justify this conclu- 
sion ? Opinions are changing. Biblical philology is a pro- 
gressive science. Marvelous changes have taken place. 
Half of the Protestant world has changed its interpretation 
since Calvin died. Spurgeon led the Baptists to a more 
generous creed. Nearly all Christendom has abandoned 
the old-time rendering of a physical hell, a 'lake of fire and 
brimstone.' There was a time when the opinion commonly 
prevailed that the six days of creation were periods of 
twenty-four hours each ; that prior to the fall there was nei- 
ther animal nor vegetable death ; and that the world was 
to be destroyed in the sense of annihilation. Other and 
greater changes are possible : but the accepted exegesis of 
today is for life, and not for death." 

In the same article, after quoting several extracts from 
sermons by John Calvin and Jonathan Edwards, containing 
very vivid and realistic descriptions of the literal burning of 
sinners in hell, Mr. Newman says, — "So rapid has been the 
return of all Christendom to original Christianity, so intense 
has been the light of biblical philology upon the sacred text, 
and so enlarged and exalted are our ideas of the justice and 
love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ, that such sermons 
would find no tolerance now in the house of the Lord." 

It is undeniable that a readjustment of thought and in- 
terpretation is taking place on this subject, and many 
preachers who no longer believe in a literally burning hell 



4 6 

have, in the reaction of their thought, gone to the other ex- 
treme and say nothing about this vital doctrine. 

That there should be changes of interpretation does not 
in the least invalidate or weaken this doctrine. 

The Bible, being a communication from the Infinite 
to the finite, must of necessity treat of matters that can be 
brought to the mind only by means of figurative statements. 
Take for instance the apocalyptic description of heaven. 
This grand passage brings truth to the most uncultured, as 
well as to the most intelligent reader, but in a different 
way. The former believes in real streets of gold and gates 
of pearl. In this there is certainly no harm. While the 
mind is still carnal, and incapable of discerning spiritual 
truth, it is far better to believe in, and strive for such a 
heaven than to believe in no heaven at all. The latter, 
through these symbols, gets a conception of the ineffable 
beauties of heaven. Only by means of the strongest and 
most striking figures of speech can an adequate idea of 
heaven be conveyed to the mind. 

The same is doubtless true of the reverse idea, namely, 
of hell. The expression "hell fire" conveys an adequate 
idea of the final punishment of the wicked, whatever its 
character may be. The picture is not too strong, nor too 
frightful. It is suited to convey its truth to all classes and 
conditions of mankind, — to the ignorant as well as the 
most cultured. 

The statements of truth in the Bible have no respect 
to a higher or lower state of civilization or intelligence. If 
the intelligence or advancement of the twentieth century 
had prevailed in the first century, we would have the doc- 
trine of future punishment expressed in the New Testament 
in exactly the same terms. 

To a certain extent, as a man believes, so is he. If he 
believes in a literal hell, and is at all consistent, an impulse 
of fear is ever present, by which he will regulate his life ac- 



• 47 

cordingly. If he believes that future punishment is ex- 
pressed symbolically, he will be deterred from wickedness 
according as he is actuated by true or false methods of in- 
terpretation. Hence, a misinterpretation is misleading, and 
extremely dangerous. The true Christian will not depend 
on mere opinion for his interpretation of so momentous a 
matter, but will interpret upon the basis of his faith, which 
alone will preserve him from error, and secure his safety. 

Whatever may be the differences of honest opinion con- 
cerning the subject of future punishment, all who believe 
the Bible must believe that God has set before every man, — » 
good and evil, blessing and cursing, life and death. 

The doom »of the sinner is outer darkness, utter ruin, 
destruction, death, which in its effect shall be eternal ; while 
the believer shall be rewarded with life, and everlasting fe - 
licity. 

The saint shall receive infinite gain and the sinner shall 
suffer irreparable loss. 

We have sufficient authority from the revealed Word 
of God to declare that the punishment of the sinner will be 
just, awful, and eternal. Jesus, the source of all final au- 
thority, gives us the plain and positive statement, — "He 
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that be- 
lieveth not shall be damned." Mark, 16:16. 

There is nothing in the Word of God to warrant a be- 
lief in a second probation, or in a universal salvation irre- 
spective of a man's character and conduct upon earth. 

The punishment of the wicked is not only Scriptural, 
but also a strong deterrent doctrine upon the sinner, While 
fear should by mo means be the predominant motive in lead- 
ing a soul to seek God, yet it is a proper ingredient of gen- 
uine repentance. 

We are told that Noah was "moved with fear" when he 
prepared an ark to the saving of his house. Heb., 11:7. 
When the Philippian jailer saw that the foundations of the 



48 

prison were shaken and all the doors were opened, no doubt 
fear was one of the motives which led him to come tremb- 
ling before Paul and Silas and to cry ont, — "Sirs, what must 
I do to be saved?" Acts, 16:30. 

Very often this is the first motive that comes with force 
to the callous heart of man. The harrow of divine wrath 
must break up the hard soil before the good seed can take 
root and germinate. If the storm is coming, is it not the 
part of wisdom to prepare for it? 

"Who can stand before his indignation? and who can 
/ abide in the fierceness of his anger?" Nahum, 1:3-6. 

THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 

There is perhaps no more important doctrine of the 
Christian religion and none more generally overlooked 
than the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Ordinarily the minister of the Gospel will present to 
his congregation the life of Christ from his birth through 
all the stages of his life, dwelling particularly upon his suf- 
fering, death, resurrection, ascension, and intercession, and 
then stop short without emphasizing the joyous, comfort- 
ing, and soul-inspiring fact of his coming again. 

Several reasons may be assigned for this state of af- 
fairs. 

First, — Some persons, controlled to some extent at 
least, by a spirit of fanaticism, have set certain dates for the 
appearing of the Lord, and have thus brought disrepute up- 
on this doctrine ; but is this a valid reason why we should 
cast it aside altogether? 

Second, — Some persons maintain that the second com- 
ing of Christ and death are synonymous. 

Such a passage of Scripture as Matt., 24:44, — "There- 
fore be ye also ready : for in such an hour as ye 'think not 
the Son of man cometh," is frequently taken as a text for 
a funeral sermon in which the statement of the text is 



49 

wholly applied to death, which is misleading, for such pas- 
sages mean exactly what they say. 

The only point of similarity between death and Christ's 
coming is that both are uncertain as to time. In every 
other respect they have as wide a dissimilarity as day and 
night. 

Death signifies weakness, weeping, pain, and separa- 
tion ; Christ's coming signifies strength, gladness, joy, and 
reunion. 

Death is an enemy ; disguise it as we may by the lov- 
ing ministrations of friends, and the presence and sympa- 
thy of those who love us, it is nevertheless an enemy, the 
last enemy that we shall be called upon to fight, i Cor., 15 : 
26 ; but at Christ's coming we are raised from the dead, and 
shout victory over death and the grave. "O Death, where 
is thy sting? O Grave, where is thy victory? 1 Cor., 15:55. 

The coming of Christ is the consummation of the 
Christian's hope ; the completion of his redemption. "When 
this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this 
mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought 
'to pass the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up 
in victory."' 1 Cor., 15:54. 

Third, — Some persons place the second coming of 
Christ after the Millennium, in which case there would not 
be any occasion to watch for it or to be much concerned 
about it. It is not natural that any one would be very much 
interested in an event which we believe to be one thousand 
years or more in the future ; so that, instead of being the un- 
disputed and universal belief of the Church as it was during 
the first three hundred years of her history, its significance 
has been apparently forgotten, and the Church in general 
has a very dim and confused conception of this glorious 
truth, which the apostle Paul calls "that blessed hope." 
Titus, 2:13. 

Mosheim says: "The prevailing opinion that Christ 



» 



5° 

was to come and reign a thousand years among men be- 
fore the final dissolution of the world, had met no opposi- 
tion previous to- the time of Origen." 

Gibbon says concerning this doctrine in the early 
Church : "It .appears to have been the reigning sentiment 
of orthodox believers." 

The Church, intoxicated with political ambition and 
steeped in vice and superstition, became fearfully corrupt. 
Forsaking her Lord and his teachings, she plunged into the 
dark ages and the doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ, 
like that of justification by Faith which was revived by 
Luther, and. that of the Witness of the Spirit which was 
revived by Wesley, was almost lost sight of, but in recent 
years it has been studied and preached with increasing in- 
terest, and is gradually assuming the same prominence 
which it occupied in the early Church. 

The second coming of Christ is an extremely practical 
doctrine, producing the most salutary effects on the faith 
and conduct of Christians. 

It is a subject of great importance to the Church. This 
is evident from the amount of testimony relative to it in the 
Scriptures. The inspired writers, in their threatenings 
against the ungodly, in their words of hope and encourage- 
ment for the saints, and in their exhortations to repentance, 
hold up the great fact of the second coming of the Son of 
man, as that which should alarm and arouse the careless, 
and also comfort the people of God. 

Christ's coming is also prominently held forth, as the 
time when the righteous will be rewarded. "When the Chief 
Shepherd shall appear," says Peter, "ye shall receive a 
crown of glory that fadeth not away." I Pet., 5 14. And 
Paul looks forward to the day of Christ's appearing as the 
time when not only he, but all who love the appearing of 



5' 

their Lord, shall receive the crown of righteousness which 
is laid up for such. 2 Tim., 4:8. 

Most frequently, however, is this great doctrine used 
as an incentive to repentance, watchfulness, prayer, and 
holy living. "Watch," is the emphatic injunction of our 
Lord in connection with the numerous declarations of his 
second coming in the gospels. 

Paul exhorts to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, 
and to "live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present 
world ; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious ap- 
pearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." 
Titus, 2:12, 13. 

James says, "Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts; 
for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." Jas., 5 :8. 

Peter says, "What manner of persons ought ye to be 
in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and 
hasting unto the coming of the day of God." 2 Pet., 3:11, 
12. 

The last promise recorded in the Bible is "Surely I 
come quickly." This is the anchor and stay of the faithful, 
the sound of an alarm and a warning cry to the wicked. 

The last prayer recorded in the Bible is, "Even so, 
come. Lord Jesus." Thus in calm and patient hope the 
apostle answers his Lord. May this be the aspiration, long- 
ing, and prayer of our own souls ! 

"Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such 
things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, 
without spot, and blameless." 2 Pet. 3:14. 



* 



CHAPTER III. 



DEPARTMENT OF SPIRITUAL WORK. 

Spirituality is the predominant characteristic of the 
Ideal Church. Other things are essential but this is ab- 
solutely necessary. To be successful in her mission, the 
Church must have the indwelling presence of Christ and 
the constant anointing of divine power. 

As the disciples had to tarry in the upper room in 
earnest prayer and with one accord to receive the baptism 
of power which qualified them to go out on their great 
mission to evangelize the world, so our power to-day must 
come from the same source and must be procured in the 
same way. x 

It is a fatal mistake for any church to substitute ora- 
tory, music, architecture, wealth, popularity or anything 
else for spirituality. "Without me," says Christ, "ye can 
do nothing." You may talk a good deal without him ; you 
may hold conferences and conventions ; but doing is an- 
other matter. 

Without Jesus you can talk any quantity ; but with- 
out him you can do nothing. You may lay your plans, 
and arrange your machinery, and start your schemes ; but 
without the Lord you will do nothing. 

You may have all the money that wealth can bestow, 
all the learning that the schools can provide, and all the 
oratory that the most brilliant genius can supply ; but 
"Without me," saith Christ, "ye can do nothing." 

A church without spirituality has only a name to live 
while it is dead, and not one soul shall be converted to God 
through her instrumentality. 



53 

It can be said of a true church as was said of Israel: 
"the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a King 
is among them." Num. 23:21. 

The live church receives inspiration and courage from 
an ever living and ever present Leader. We want no other 
leader in the Church when we have God; he only can 
guide us through conflict to victory. That movement is 
right which is led by God, and that is sure to be wrong, 
though led in the best possible way, if God be absent. 

When the Lord is with a church, her power is riot in 
numbers, though she will speedily increase ; her power is 
not in wealth, though the money will come when it is 
needed ; her power lies in God and that power becomes ir- 
resistible and unconquerable. She will be noted for rugged 
strength, massive force and invincible energy. 

She will be a standing protest against all manner of 
wickedness in the community. Her mission, like that of 
her divine Master, is to destroy the works of the devil. She 
is a beacon, showing the sinner his danger and directing 
him to Christ and right living. 

The department of Spiritual Work, which is the most 
important in the church, has charge of the spiritual wel- 
fare of her members. 

The work is carried on by three distinct activities 
which may be designated as the Chapter meeting, the 
Evanglistic meeting, and the Pentecostal meeting. 

THE CHAPTER MEETING. 

The necessity for a weekly meeting for mutual confer- 
ence, self-examination and devotion is very apparent. 

M'ost churches have what is known as a class meet- 
ing or a prayer meeting to supply this need ; but the ma- 
jority of church members do not attend either class or 
prayer meetings. Several reasons may be assigned for this 
lamentable condition of affairs. 



54 

These meetings, as at present conducted, are often- 
times too perfunctory, — the same thing over and over 
again, the same experience, the same prayer, — only an ex- 
ternal form with no vim or earnestness. There is an un- 
natural and unwarranted restraint manifested throughout 
the service which is dispelled as soon as the benediction is 
pronounced, when everybody can talk with the greatest 
freedom and without any timidity. It is surprising how 
helpless some people profess to be when it comes 'to the 
public service of God ! 

Many church members do not go to class or prayer 
meeting because of an appalling lack of Christian experi- 
ence. The only logical inference is that they have no ex- 
perience worth talking about, for, as a rule, when a man 
is right with God, and his soul is aflame with love for 
Christ and the Church and humanity, he will gladly use 
every opportunity to tell to others what great things the 
Lord has done for him. 

It is needless to say that those people who attend 
theatres, balls, euchre parties, or other amusements of evil 
tendencies, as well as those who have only the form of 
godliness without its power, are not found in testimony or 
prayer meetings. The reason is self-evident ; and if by 
some strange circumstance they should be present, you 
may be certain that they will take no active and personal 
part in the meeting. 

The chapter meeting of the Ideal Church is intended 
to counteract this lukewarm interest, alarming indifference 
and haphazard attendance, so prevalent today. 

The attendance at the chapter meeting is obligatory 
except in case of a reasonable excuse, such as sickness or 
absence from the community. What is worth doing at all, 
is worth doing well. If these meetings are to be attended 
in a haphazard way, it would be better, for the credit of 
the Church and the honor of Christ, to dispense with them 



entirely. The Church has the right to demand of her mem- 
bers the same devotion and loyalty to the Church tha* 
they have for their secular employment. 

The chapter meeting has partly the nature of the de- 
votional meeting of the modern Young People's society 
and it includes also the salient characteristics of the origi- 
nal Wesleyan class meeting, which were to make inquiry 
into the spiritual condition of its members, and to give an 
opportunity for making systematic financial contributions 
to> the church. 

Some time of each chapter meeting shall be given to 
the discussion and consideration of an assigned topic on 
some phase of Christian doctrine, experience or practice. 
A portion of the time shall also be devoted to song, testi- 
mony and' prayer. 

The impressiveness of the degree-work of the lodge 
can be utilized to good advantage in instructing young 
converts as to the nature and obligations of the Christian 
life. Such object lessons would undoubtedly help to sus- 
tain the interest and also produce an excellent effect. 

Take, for instance, a "Pilgrim" degree, describing a 
Christian's journey through this world to the "Eternal 
City ;" a "Warrior" degree, describing a Christian's con- 
flict, the foe to be encountered, and the armor with which 
he must be clad to- successfully meet the enemy ; or a 
''Christian" degree, describing the significance of that 
term and the responsibilities assumed by making such a 
profession. 

Certain questions relating chiefly to personal charac- 
ter and conduct shall be submitted at each meeting to 
which satisfactory answers must be given. 

(a.) By the Department of Spiritual Work : — "Are you 
striving, by God's help, to obey the Ten Commandments, 
and to shape your life according to the teachings of 



56 

Christ?" "Are you endeavoring* to measure up to the test 
of discipleship given by our Lord when he said, — Whoso- 
ever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take 
up his cross and follow me?" (Mark 8:34.) 

(b.) By the Department of Mercy and Help, — "Are 
there any sick?" "Are there any requiring temporal re- 
lief?" "Are there any out of employment?" 

(c.) By the Social Department, — "Have you kept 
yourself free from all entangling alliances with the world, 
such as ungodly company and sinful amusements?" "Have 
you abstained from the use of intoxicating liquors as a bev- 
erage, and are you separate from all political parties that 
are not outspoken in their hostility to the liquor traffic?" 

(d.) By the Department of Education and Literature, 
— "Do you read our church periodicals?" "Believing the 
Holy Scriptures to be the message of God to man, do you 
study them daily for your spiritual profit and edification?" 
"Are you encouraging, both by precept and example, the 
Bible school of the church?" 

(e.) By the Industrial Department, — "Are you en- 
deavoring to be diligent in business, as well as fervent in 
spirit?" "Have you contracted any debt without a proba- 
bility of paying it?" "Are you giving at least a tenth of 
your income to the Lord, not grudgingly or of necessity, 
but because you realize the fact of your stewardship and 
the right of God's claim upon you?" 

THE EVANGELISTIC MEETING. 

The Ideal Church will be pre-eminently noted as a 
soul-saving church. Her great two-fold purpose is to seek 
the spiritual growth of believers and the salvation of sin- 
ners. She will not reserve a few months in the year for 
a "protracted meeting," but she will put forth a continuous 
effort to win souls. The time usually selected for the pro- 
tracted meeting is in the worst part of the year, when the 



57 

weather is intensely cold and stormy, the roads bad, and 
the walking dangerous, which makes it extremely difficult 
to rally all the forces for the work; moreover, the pro- 
tracted meeting idea trains people to think that there can 
be a relaxation in evangelistic work during the greater 
part of the year. 

In the primitive Church, there were added to the 
Church daily such as should be saved ; and the Church to- 
day should be satisfied with nothing less than the conver- 
sion of sinners in every month of the year. For this pur- 
pose there should be one or more evangelistic meetings 
held every week in which all the preaching, exhortation, 
singing and prayer ought to be directed to this specific 
end. 

There is great need for more personal, hand-to-hand 
work in the salvation of souls. This was the method adopt- 
ed by the early Church. Andrew brought his brother Si- 
mon, and Philip findeth Nathanael. May God give us a 
fuller realization of the great impending peril of those who 
are without Christ, and I am certain we shall be more ag- 
gressive in their rescue ! 

The altar service will be retained in the evangelistic 
meetings of the Ideal Church. Coming to the altar of 
prayer, familiarly known as the "penitents' form," or 
"mourner's bench" has advantages that can not be had 
otherwise. It is a definite act which, in itself, is all-im- 
portant. It also indicates a deep earnestness, an intense 
desire to be a Christian, and a public confession of Christ, 
all of which are necessary for salvation. 

There is also a wonderful help in the inspiring hymns 
and earnest prayers of God's people as they are gathered 
around the penitent during the altar service. 

There is a disposition in the church today to make 
conversion as easy as possible, encouraging- men to mere- 
ly raise the hand, or rise in the audience, to signify that 



» 



5S 

they have accepted Christ. Such methods are misleading, 
and divert the soul from the real conditions of salvation. 
The importance of a proper foundation is apt to be slight- 
ed., the result of which is a lack of stability. 

It is not surprising, therefore, that such persons are 
not rooted and grounded in the faith. They are strangers 
to heart-work in religion ; they have never been alarmed 
on account of their sins ; they have not humbled themselves 
at the foot of the cross ; they have not fled to Jesus for 
refuge ; they know nothing of that great change of heart, 
called the new birth ; they hav^e only a poor, empty form 
of godliness, without its power. 

Admission into the kingdom of God requires the most 
strenuous exertion. "Strive to enter in at the strait gate." 
Luke 13:24. "The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, 
and the violent take it by force." Matt. 11:12. 

THE PENTECOSTAL MEETING. 

The Evangelistic meeting is more particularly intend- 
ed for the conversion of the sinner, while the Pentecostal 
meeting has for its purpose the spiritual development and 
growth in grace of the believer. 

It is not merely a privilege, but an express command 
that we "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord 
and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Pet. 3:18. 

It is a deplorable fact that many professed Christians 
make but little progress in the divine life, notwithstanding 
the abundant provisions of God's grace. How important, 
therefore, that there should be a meeting of this kind for 
special instruction and exhortation in this direction. 

There are undoubtedly different degrees of growth 
in grace. The young convert, who has but lately enlisted 
under the banner of the cross, does not know or under- 
stand as much of grace, and: has not as much faith and 
love, as the veteran who has endured the storm of battle 



59 

for many years. The indifferent man, who is negligent ami 
careless, and takes but little interest in spiritual things, 
does not stand on a par in grace with the zealous man who 
loves the house of God, and whose soul is absorbed with a 
desire to save men and advance the Redeemer's kingdom. 

Growth is the normal condition of the Christian. The 
plant grows every day, the child advances every hour; and 
if our souls are growing, the process is constant. If we 
are not religious in summer, we are not religious in winter ; 
if we are not religious during the week, we are not relig- 
ious on Sunday ; if we are not religious in the workshop, 
we are not religious in the church. Religion is not spas- 
modic ; if genuine, it is a continuous growth. Whenever 
growth ceases, either in the natural or spiritual realm, 
there is decadence and' death. 

Another design of the Pentecostal meeting is to ac- 
quire the equipment of spiritual power for Christian ser- 
vice. The key-note of the meeting is, "Baptism for Ser- 
vice." The enduement of divine power is absolutely es- 
sential to any effective work for God. This is the criterion 
of the spiritual life of the Church, and of the reality of 
Christian experience. 

The Christian Church was born in a revival. A re- 
vival is substantially a fresh appropriation of divine power. 

The dynamic element enters Christianity not at the 
cross, not at the empty sepulchre, but at Pentecost. Pen- 
tecost is as much a fact of Christianity as is the crucifixion. 
The descent of the Holy Spirit is as tremendous a truth 
as is the incarnation or the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

"Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued 
with power from on high." Luke 24:49. A cultivated 
ministry and well-appointed churches are well enough in 
their way ; they are suitable for the conveyance of power, 
but are not themselves power. Appliances are valuable, 
but only as vehicles for the transmission of energy that is 



6o 

from God. The early Church, as compared with the 
Church of today, was poor in appliances. The difference 
between the times is largely the difference of power. It is 
the annointing of the Holy Spirit which still sets each of 
us in the line of the true apostolic succession. 

This equipment of power will show itself in an eager de- 
sire to 

"Tell to others round, 

What a dear Savior I have found." 

When the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, 
they began to speak as the Spirit gave them utterance. 
We occasionally hear of a "silent partner" in some busi- 
ness arrangement, but there is no place for silent Chris- 
tians under the administration of the Holy Spirit. Inspi- 
ration and utterance are inseparable. The Holy Spirit and 
preaching are indissolubly joined together. "Out of the 
abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Matt. 
12:34. "We can not but speak the things which we have 
seen and heard." Acts, 4:20. 

The great need of the Church today is "power from 
on high, — not physical power, not logical power, not scien- 
tific power, not social power, not financial power, but pow- 
er from on high. Power direct from God; supernatural 
power, omnipotent power, all-conquering power ! When the 
Church possesses this power, nothing can stand before her. 
The world with its wily allurements, the flesh with its un- 
holy passions and appetites, and the devil with his subtile 
temptations and persistent efforts to destroy, must go 
down. Infidelity, worldliness, indifference, and indolence 
must flee. All opposition will be vanquished and the 
Church, "fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible 
as an army with banners" shall gloriously triumph \ 



CHAPTER IV. 



MERCY AND HELP. 

The department of Mercy and Help looks after the 
physical and temporal needs of the members, visiting and 
caring for the sick, paying sick-benefits and funeral ex- 
penses, giving help to those who are financially embar- 
rassed, and calling the attention of the Industrial depart- 
ment to such as need employment. 

This department should be in the charge of an ac- 
credited physician, who is skilled in the science and prac- 
tice of medicine, and who shall be paid by the Church. 

His special mission is to proclaim the gospel of health ; 
to teach the laws of physiology and hygiene, and to urge 
the Christian observance of those laws. 

Many cases of sickness are ascribed to the inscrutable 
providence of God, which may be traced to carelessness 
and neglect. More attention needs to be given to pure 
air, cleanliness, wholesome nutriment and proper exercise. 
Every home should have abundant facilities for ventilation, 
and no house should be built without a bath-room. 

As to divine healing, we would not limit the power 
of the prayer of faith for the restoration of the sick ; but 
it should not be forgotten that God has established cer- 
tain laws governing our health, and placed within our reach 
certain remedies for the healing of disease. 

God, himself, almost invariably makes use of means 
for the accomplishment of his purposes, and there can be 
no incongruity or lack of faith in applying the remedy and 
at the same time calling upon God, the great Physician, 
for his intervention to bless the means and to heal the 



62 



sick. In this case, as well as in every other experience of 
the Christian life, faith and works should go together. 

Closely connected with the visitation and care of the 
sick, is the payment of sick benefits, which is one of the 
most important duties of this department. There are no 
financial difficulties in the way of doing this because the 
members of the Ideal Church practice giving proportionate 
to their income, which insures sufficient money for every 
good and noble work. 

The payment of such benefits will obviate the neces- 
sity for secret societies. We do not especially condemn 
secret societies. As far as we know, they accomplish good 
and are founded upon good principles. 

But it must be admitted that an enormous amount of 
energy, time and money is diverted from the Church by 
these societies, which could be used to far better advantage 
in the work of the Church ; also, that these societies have a 
tendency to lead men and women to neglect the means of 
grace. 

The leading motive in joining these societies is, be- 
yond doubt, the means of protection afforded by the bene- 
ficial features connected with them. This motive will no 
longer exist as the Ideal Church makes ample provision 
for poor and needy, for the orphan, for times of sickness, 
old age and death. It is the province of the Church to do 
these things, and when the Church does her duty, there is 
no necessity for such societies. 

We deprecate the statement so frequently heard, — "If m 
people live up to the principles of the lodge, they will be 
just as good Christians as you will find in the churches. 5 " 
Such statements are seldom sincere, but are generally 
made by persons who want to justify their own neglect of 
the Church. In this way they endeavor to silence the voice 
of conscience which condemns them for preferring the 
lodge, a mere human institution, to the Church, which is 



divinely appointed of God for the salvation of men through 
Jesns Christ. 

Another duty of the Ideal Church is to pay the funeral 
expenses of the dead. This expense is frequently unex- 
pected and often falls on those who are least able to bear 
it. No more practical expression of Christian sympathy 
can be given to those who are prostrated by bereavement. 

This work is generally done now by the lodge, to 
which I have already referred, or by what is known as in- 
dustrial insurance which is an organized system of collect- 
ing weekly dues, in consideration of which a certain amount 
of money shall be paid in case of death. 

Industrial insurance has undoubtedly been a boon to 
many poor families who would otherwise scarcely have 
known what to do when the grim reaper invaded the house- 
hold, but it is more fitting that the Church should do this 
work. It is part of the legitimate work of the Church. 
Christ came into the world not to be ministered unto but 
to minister. 

The work can also be performed by the Church with 
greater economy. Insurance companies expend large sums 
of money for high-salaried officials, the maintenance of nu- 
merous offices, extensive advertising, and the employment 
of many canvassers and collectors, all of which expenses 
must be paid by the people in addition to the money actu- 
ally returned to them in the form of insurance. The Mercy 
and Help department of the Ideal Church can attend to this 
■ matter very satisfactorily at a minimum cost. 

In addition to these benefits, there are certain other 
benevolent enterprises that will receive due consideration. 

It is needless to eulogize the work of the hospital. There 
are facilities and appliances in a well regulated hospital for 
surgical operations and the general treatment of disease 
that can not be had elsewhere, so that it is a necessary as 



64 

well as an eminently proper adjunct of church work. In no 
other way can the Church better exemplify the spirit of her 
divine Master. 

The utility of the orphanage is also acknowledged by 
every person who recognizes the fatherhood of God and 
the brotherhood of man. Children, bereft of their parents, 
are deprived of home surroundings and influence which are 
so essential to the development of character ; and, owing to 
their helpless condition, they should be the special care of 
the Church. In the orphanage, conducted as nearly as pos- 
sible as a Christian home, they receive religious, mental and 
industrial training and thus become fitted for the stern real- 
ities of life: 

Another important benevolence is the home for the 
aged. Owing to the industrial system described in connec- 
tion with the Industrial department, very few members of 
the Ideal Church will come to old age so poor as to need 
help from others, and yet no man is exempt from misfor- 
tune. He may have prolonged sickness or in some other 
way he may lose that which he has laid by for a rainy day 
and upon which he depended for his old age ; so that with- 
out any fault of his own, he comes to a situation in life 
where he is not able to take care of himself. 

The Ideal Church will establish and maintain homes 
for such persons where they may spend their declining 
years in comfort, and surrounded by Christian influences : 
such homes to- be conducted not merely on the basis of 
"charity," as that word is frequently understood, but as an 
expression of fraternal sympathy and Christian affection. 

In cases where members of the church have reached a 
certain age limit, and do not desire to sever family ties and 
associations by entering such a home, the "pension" idea 
could be adopted. 

Corporations have begun to pension employees, who 
after years of faithful service are incapacitated on account of 



65 

the infirmities of age ; the Government has adopted this plan, 
especially in the case of the old soldier, and the Church 
practices it in the case of the superannuated pastor. 

The Church should look after the welfare of her "worn- 
out" preachers, but is there any reason why she should not 
look after the welfare of her "worn-out'' miners, carpenters, 
farmers, laborers, etc. ? If both pastor and members have 
been loyal to the church, faithful in the discharge of their 
duties to which God has called them, and systematic in 
their contributions to the support of the Gospel, their claims 
seem to be identical. 

I can not see that the pastor has any claim which should 
not be equally valid in the case of any superannuated' mem- 
ber of the church. If the pastor appears to have a special 
claim, it must arise from one of two things, — he has either 
been underpaid for his life-long services, or he has been ex- 
travagant. 

In order to establish most fully the bond of fellowship, 
which is fundamental in the Christian Church, let there be 
no distinction between minister and member in this respect. 
A system of pension applying to both would emphasize the 
privileges and rights of the membership without underesti- 
mating the importance of the ministry. 

Ordinarily, the allowance could be gauged most equita- 
bly in proportion to the number of years of membership in 
the church, but occasionally there may be extraordinary cir- 
cumstances where more particular help is required. 

As the maintenance of these institutions just enumer- 
ated, — hospital, orphanage and home, will be too heavy a 
financial burden for each local church to bear, a number of 
churches are joined together to form a district for this pur- 
pose. A district may consist of a county or, where the mem- 
bership in a county is not sufficient, several adjoining coun- 
ties can constitute a district. 

The chairmen of the "Mercy and Help" departments of 



66 



the different churches of the district shall be a board of di- 
rectors, having general supervision of these institutions. 
They shall make a full report of the expenditures, condition 
and needs of these institutions to a district conference which 
shall meet at stated times and which shall consist of accred- 
ited delegates from the various churches of the district. 



CHAPTER V. 



SOCIAL DEPARTMENT. 
The work of the Social Department is to promote so- 
ciability among the members, to extend the hand of friend- 
ship to all who need encouragement, to entertain strangers, 
to have charge of the music, to advance the cause of good 
citizenship, to assist in the maintenance of law and order, 
and to provide suitable recreation and amusement. The 
Chairman of this department, therefore, should be skilled 
in music ; and able to marshal the Church for good citi- 
zenship. 

Sociability is a very important feature of the Ideal 
Church. There is no better way to reach the heart than 
by the kind word of greeting, the warm clasp of the hand, 
and the spirit of true friendship and fraternal co-operation. 

A hearty welcome to all the services will be extended 
in such a manner that the recipient can not help but feel 
that it is not merely an act of cold and formal routine, but 
the spontaneous prompting of a warm and sympathetic , 
heart. 

The Ideal Church loathes and utterly abhors the slight- 
est recognition of class distinction, and if there is any par- 
tiality at all, it is in favor of the poor, the tempted, the down- 
trodden, who do not seem to have an equal opportunity with 
those who, by the force of external circumstances, have a 
smoother and brighter pathway along life's journey. 

There are so many troubles in this world, SO' many 
anxieties, so many fatigues, so- many desolations, that we 
want the Church of Jesus Christ to be the most cheerful 
spot on earth, — a place where the disheartened can obtain 



68 



new strength and courage, where the sorrowful can find 
comfort, and where those who are weary and heavy laden 
can acquire peace and rest. 

MUSIC. 

The Ideal Church will have a large and vigorous choir. 
A choir can be an excellent help to the services provided 
its singing is practical rather than professional, and spiritual 
rather than scientific. 

The proverbial trouble in the choir generally arises 
from a lack of spirituality. It too often occurs that members 
of a choir hold themselves aloof from the spiritual activities 
of the church, or they may not even be identified with the 
church at all. Such a state of affairs is likely to culminate 
in discord and disorder, for the true spirit of worship is ab- 
sent and they do not sing with the spirit and understanding. 

The special function of the choir is to lead the singing. 
While special and separate singing by the choir may be 
beneficial and may have its proper place in the service, yet 
it can not be a satisfactory substitute for congregational 
singing. 

There is nothing more inspiring and uplifting than the 
full volume of song coming from the entire congregation in 
the worship of God. Such worship is akin to that which 
John saw in his vision of the heavenly city when he "heard 
as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice 
of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, say- 
ing, Alleluia : for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." Rev. 
19:6. 

The Ideal Church will also use all manner of stringed 
and wind instruments to produce music before the Lord. 
Why should the violin be conceded to> the ball-room and 
the brass band and orchestra to the secular concert and the 
saloon ? 

The Salvation Army recognizes the utility of instru- 



6 9 

mental music in its work to which may be attributed in 
some degree at least her remarkable success in evangeliza- 
tion. 

Instrumental music attracts the people, provokes en- 
thusiasm, and can be made a very effective means for good 
in the work of the church. 

"Praise the Lord with the sound of the trumpet: praise 
him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the tim- 
brel and dance : praise him with stringed instruments and 
organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals : praise him upon 
the high sounding cymbals. Let every thing that hath 
breath praise the Lord." Psalms, 150:3-6. 

GOOD CITIZENSHIP. 

Politics is the science of government. A political party 
is an aggregation of persons banded together to advance 
certain principles in which they believe. A person does not 
lose his or her individual responsibility by becoming iden- 
tified with a political party. That which is morally wrong 
can never be politically right. 

Therefore, the Ideal Church will require of her mem- 
bers that they can not belong to such political parties that 
are not outspoken in their hostility to the liquor traffic, cor- 
porate greed, political corruption, unjust taxation or any 
other evil which encourages sin and oppresses the people. 
"Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to 
any people." Proverbs, 14:34. 

The obligations to Christ and his Church are superior 
to any predilection for a political party. A political party 
which sanctions wrong doing, either by direct statement or 
even by a permissive silence, is diametrically opposed to 
the Church which stands for righteousness ; the two are con- 
tradictory to each other, and no man can belong to both and 
sustain his honor and integrity. 

If we except the supremely important act of seeking 



70 

after God and eternal life, the act of voting is the most re- 
sponsible act of a man's life. By his ordinary acts, he mere- 
ly touches those within a circumscribed territory, the circle 
of his acquaintances, but when he votes, he touches, either 
for weal or woe. every man. woman and child in the state 
and nation. If his ordinary acts are subject to the discipline 
of the Church, why not his political acts which are even 
more important and vastly more far-reaching in their ef- 
fect ? 

A Christian has no right to make any compromise on 
the day of election. He has no right to choose the less of 
two evils. The command, "Come out from among them, 
and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the un- 
clean thing;" 2 Cor. 6:17. is as imperative at the polls as 
elsewhere. A political sinner is just as obnoxious to God 
and as detrimental to the Church as any other kind of 
sinner. 

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC. 

That the liquor traffic is the greatest enemy of the hu- 
man race and the deadliest foe of the Church of Jesus Christ, 
is a fact that can not be successfully controverted. We can 
obtain some idea of the enormity of this evil when we note 
that more money is spent in our country for strong drink 
than for bread., meat, education and Christian missions ; and 
this amount spent for stimulants does not include the ex- 
pense of maintaining our poor houses, jails, insane asylums, 
charitable homes and criminal courts, which are largely ne- 
cessitated by this traffic ; and besides the financial waste, 
there is the intellectual, social, and moral waste ; and who 
is able to compute the desolation of manhood, the desecra- 
tion of womanhood and the destruction of childhood? 

I will briefly arraign alcoholic drinks. 

Life Insurance officials testify that they murder the 
body, and surely their statements are not based on mere 



7i 

sentimentality. To be successful, their principles of business 
must be founded on matters of actual fact. 

Experts on insanity testify that they murder the intel- 
lect. 

Our criminal courts testify that they are the great pro- 
ducers of crime, and the murderers of human conscience 
and the family peace. 

Our poor houses and the slums of our cities testify that 
they murder human comfort, and cause a large percentage 
of the pauperism and misery found there. 

The Holy Scriptures declare that they murder the soul. 
"No drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of God." I Cor. 
6 :io. 

The absolute prohibition of the traffic is the one and 
only rational and radical cure of this evil. It has behind it 
the wisdom of the severest logic, acknowledged by every 
man. 

Moral Suasion has not power enough to tackle this 
gigantic wrong. Babes can not successfully fight giants. 
Enthroned evils require herculean force to dislodge them. 
While here and there one is being rescued from the iniquit- 
ous stream by means of persuasion, scores are hurried along 
by the current, hurled headlong over the rapids, and en- 
gulfed in the maelstrom of despair and ruin. 

License, also, is powerless as a remedy. It is wrong 
in principle and impracticable in its results. To license the 
traffic is to give it the special protection of law and sanction 
of government. If liquor selling is right, all men should 
have an equal opportunity to engage in it. If liquor sell- 
ing is not right, no community has the right to grant any 
man the privilege to do wrong. 

What does the Bible say about the License policy? 

"Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine and men 



72 

of strength to mingle strong drink : which justify the wicked 
for reward." Isa. 5 123. 

"In the revenues of the wicked is trouble." Prov. 15:6. 

"Better is a little with righteousness, than great reve- 
nues without right." Prov. 16:8. 

"They shall be ashamed of their revenues because of 
the fierce anger of the Lord." Jer. 12:13. 

"Woe unto him that buildeth a town with blood ; and 
establisheth a city with iniquity." Heb. 2:12. 

The saloon differs from other evils in that it is legalized 
and thus sanctioned by the votes of the people. It is amaz- 
ing that any Christian man should be "particeps criminis" 
in the matter of legalizing this monstrous evil. 

Many professors of religion, who support the license 
policy, endeavor to satisfy their consciences by saying that 
the license law means restraint and regulation. Even that 
view of the matter is a gross anomaly. What a spectacle, 
to see the people of God trying to regulate the works of 
darkness ! It is indisputable, however, that license means 
permission. The person who does not hold a license has 
not the right to sell liquor, and if he should do so, the State 
would deal with him as a criminal ; but the person who holds 
a license has the right to sell liquor, and the State will pro- 
tect him in that right. Can any one be so illogical as to 
deny that license is permission. It has also been demon- 
strated that it is as easy to enforce a prohibitory law as a 
license law, if there are honest and determined officials who 
will undertake to do it. 

Every mill must have raw material on which to work. 
Logs are put into the saw mill and come out boards ; wheat 
is put into the grist mill and comes out flour ; the milling 
process adds to the value, and therefore the labor used is 
a benefit and blessing to mankind. 

But what is the raw material for the gin mill? Why, 
boys are put in there, and they come out drunkards. The 



73 

saloon could no more exist without boys than the saw mill 
could run without logs. The gin mill grinding slowly, it 
may be, but surely, changes that boy so completely that you 
can scarcely recognize him. It wrecks his body, blasts his 
prospects, withers his intellect, besmirches his character, 
sears his conscience, and destroys his soul ! 

A man desiring to enter the saloon business rented a 
building which had formerly been used as a trunk factory. 
He engaged a painter to paint an appropriate sign for his 
business. When the painter arrived, he saw the old sign, 
— "Trunk Factory," and he simply changed the "T" into 
a "D," making it read, — "Drunk Factory" — a very appro- 
priate sign indeed ! 

The saloon keeper is the only man who is ashamed of 
his business. I have reference now to legitimate business. 
The merchant delights to display his goods and will arrange 
his show-windows in the most attractive style for that pur- 
pose. The mechanic is anxious to show specimens of his 
workmanship, and eagerly solicits public inspection. 

The liquor seller, however, will place large screens at 
his doors and curtains at his windows. He evidently does 
not want the people to see him at his work nor to inspect 
the finished product of his labor. 

AMUSEMENTS. 

The Ideal Church will take advanced ground and an 
unequivocal position on the question of amusements. 

It is generally acknowledged that the theatre has a de- 
basing and degrading influence. We have often heard it 
stated by persons who have tested it and can therefore 
speak from experience, that the great majority of theatrical 
plays cater to the lowest passions and lead the soul away 
from God and eternal life. 

We frequently hear Christian professors says, "I have 
no desire to be a regular attendant at the theatre but if ever 



74 

I have an opportunity, I would like to see Uncle Tom's 
Cabin, The Old Homestead, etc. I can see no possible harm 
in plays of that character." 

Such statements border on exceedingly dangerous 
ground. The very presence of a Christian in the play-house, 
even though to see one of the few so called unobjectionable 
plays, weakens his influence for good and encourages oth- 
ers, who are not so scrupulous in their choice, to continue 
their indiscriminate attendance upon the theatre. 

There must be a well defined line marked down between 
the Church and the world in this respect. The Ideal Church 
will forbid her members to attend any entertainments which 
are given under the supervision and direction of worldly 
and ungodly persons. "But," you say, "man is a social be- 
ing and needs relaxation and amusement." True, and it is 
simply because the Church has overlooked this need that 
the world has had a monopoly, to a great extent, in furnish- 
ing this amusement and it has always been to the detriment 
of Christian character. 

The Ideal Church, through her Social department, will 
provide music, singing, readings, recitals, lectures and en- 
tertainments of various sorts, which are instructive, enter- 
taining and wholesome in their effect. By restricting her 
members to entertainments under Christian control, the so - 
cial nature can be fully satisfied and, at the same time, there 
will be no compromise with the world. 

If, notwithstanding these provisions by the Church, 
persons still attend the theatre because they love the coarse 
jest, the vulgar speech, and the lewd suggestion which 
generally prevail there, they should have no place in the 
Church of Christ. 

Lotteries, horse racing, shooting matches, card playing 
and every other form of gambling will not be countenanced 
nor tolerated by the Ideal Church. 



75 

Some persons may see no harm in a social game of 
cards, but it is nevertheless a fact that the card has been ap- 
propriated by the devil for his purposes. The card is so 
closely associated with the gambler that it would be a great 
waste of time and effort for the Church to attempt to divorce 
them. In making the attempt the Church would lower her 
dignity and sadly impair her influence for righteousness. 
The only honorable thing to do is to obey the apostolic in- 
junction to abstain from the very appearance of evil. 

As the card is the recognized tool of the gambler, so 
the dance is undoubtedly the greatest ally of the libertine 
and prostitute. A dance without the free commingling of 
the sexes would not be enjoyed. The clasping of hands, the 
embrace of the body, the rythmic motion, the exciting whirl 
and the fascinating gayety are all conducive to impure 
thoughts and the arousing of the lowest animal passions. 

Liberties are taken in the ball room that would not be 
tolerated in the home. Many a young girl has taken her 
first step from virtue and has lost all desire for Christ and 
the Church through the unhallowed influence and associa- 
tions of the ball room. 

The only safe rule to adopt in regard to all amuse- 
ments which are questionable in their influence and effect 
upon the Christian life is to* follow the example of the 
apostle Paul who said, "If meat make my brother to of- 
fend, I will eat no- flesh while the world standeth, lest I 
make my brother to offend" I Cor t 8:13. 



CHAPTER VI. 



EDUCATION AND LITERATURE. 

The department of Education and Literature has 
charge of the circulation of church periodicals, library and 
reading room, educational institutions, correspondence, 
church records, and last, but by no means least, the im- 
portant work of Bible study. 

No man can be an intelligent and thoroughly loyal 
church member unless he takes the church paper. Only 
in that way can he keep in touch with the general move- 
ments and enterprises of his denomination. 

The press is one of the greatest factors of civilization 
and the best method for disseminating religious knowl- 
edge, and the Ideal Church will make full use of these 
advantages. 

The Ideal Church will also elevate the standard of 
the newspaper. There is today a preponderance of sen- 
sational journalism. Too much space is given to the 
nauseating details of suits for divorce and breach of prom- 
ise, murder trials, suicides, elopements, and other topics 
that pertain to the depraved side of human life. Whole 
columns are devoted to a brutal prize fight and only a 
few obscure and insignificant paragraphs to the work of 
the Church of God, which is the greatest institution on 
earth for the uplifting of man and the amelioration of the 
human race. The ideal church member demands a clean 
newspaper, clean in its news, in its editorials, and in its 
advertisements. 

It is germane to this subject to say a word concern- 
ing the Sunday newspaper. The Sunday edition is con- 



77 

siderably larger than the regular edition and put up in a 
more attractive form, thus extending special inducements 
to the people to buy. The Sunday newspaper is a great 
detriment to the Church and the cause of God. A man 
who reads and assimilates the entire contents of the Sun- 
day newspaper has no time for church, and even if he had. 
his mind, after such a process, is in no fit condition either 
to receive religious truth or to reverently worship God. 
The Christian people of this country can easily stop the 
publication of the Sunday newspaper when they are fully 
determined not to patronize any paper that issues a Sun- 
day edition ; but this is a case in which actions speak 
louder than words. 

The library should be an institution of the church 
rather than of the Sunday school. 

A church library has a larger sphere of usefulness. It 
can be opened on certain evenings of the week for the in- 
terchange of books, and its privileges can be extended to 
the entire community. 

A Sunday school library is more limited in its opera- 
tion, and the interchange of books creates more or less 
confusion and detracts from the real purposes of the 
school. 

Closely connected with the library is the reading 
room, well supplied with magazines, books and papers, 
with cozy and attractive furnishings, where an hour can 
be pleasantly and profitably spent and where there are su- 
perior facilities to acquire general information. 

The reading room can be made a potent means to 
counteract the saloon with its wily allurements to tempt 
young men from the path of sobriety and virtue. 

EDUCATION. 

The Ideal Church is the friend of higher education. 
A man's success in life depends very largely upon his 



78 

qualifications and equipment to grasp the situation, cope 
with difficulty and to meet the emergencies as they may 
arise in the performance of his duty. 

There is great need of a reserve force from which to 
draw, for very often that which is entirely unexpected con- 
fronts us and only as we are able to meet it can we achieve 
success. In fact, it is this ability to meet the emergency 
which constitutes success. 

A merchant whose whole stock of goods is displayed 
in the show-window and who has nothing on his shelves 
can not expect to do a very extensive business ; and so a 
man with a superficial preparation for life's duties will be 
left far behind in the race. 

Hence the importance of thorough training, and the 
incalculable benefit of our public schools. 

If there is one thing, on which, more than all others, 
America may justly pride herself and found high hopes of 
stability for her glorious institutions, it is her system of 
public schools. She offers the advantages of education to 
the young without money and without price, convinced 
that their enlightenment is her best safeguard. 

Our public schools are under the supervision of local 
officers elected by the people and should be forever kept 
free from political and sectarian influences. 

Over every school building should float the flag, the 
symbol of our national glory and honor; and in every 
school room should be a copy of the Holy Bible, not mere- 
ly as an ornament but as a text-book for daily use. 

Without the Bible, our civilization would be transitory 
like that of pagan Greece and Rome. If the Romans, as 
a nation, had accepted and propagated the Gospel as of- 
fered them by the apostle Paul, the Roman Empire would 
probably exist to-day. 

Driven into the wilderness by the scourge of persecu- 
tion and by the desire to serve God, our forefathers laid 



79 

the foundations of the republic, deep and strong, upon the 
Bible. In the darkest period of the Revolutionary strug- 
gle for liberty, Washington made his appeal to the God of 
battles. When the master minds were ready to form that 
wonderful production, — the Constitution of the United 
States, they paused in their deliberations to seek the Di- 
vine guidance and blessing. We are confessedly a Chris- 
tian nation. 

The Jewish nation had likewise her institutions found- 
ed in the knowledge and fear of God ; but her want of 
faithfulness proved her ruin ; and only as we are true to 
God and his Word can we hope to maintain true and last- 
ing national greatness. 

May every patriot, therefore, zealously guard and pro- 
tect our system of public schools, upholding the flag and 
endorsing the Bible ! 

The State furnishes an excellent fundamental training 
in the public schools, and it is exceedingly appropriate that 
the Church should supplement the work by establishing 
and- supporting institutions of higher learning such as 
seminaries and colleges. 

And just as the State offers free education to all, so 
should the Church offer free higher education to all who 
at the end of the public school training show adaptability 
for further advancement, and who are recommended by 
the local church to which they belong. 

This method will do away with the custom of lifting 
collections throughout the length and breadth of the land 
with considerable eclat and generally accompanied with a 
great deal of pathos, for the education of those who are 
too poor to pay. 

A young man of independent spirit will hesitate be- 
fore accepting money raised in this way, nor does he care 
to fill out application blanks containing certain personal 



8o 

statements and exactions required 'before he can avail 
himself of any financial advantage. 

You ask how can the Church proffer free educa- 
tion to indigent persons except on the charity basis. I 
answer, the institutions of the State are supported by pro- 
portionate giving known as taxes ; and the institutions of 
the Ideal Church are supported by proportionate giving 
known as tithes, and there is no more delicacy in accept- 
ing education from the Church than there is in receiving 
it from the State. 

BIBLE STUDY. 

It is generally believed that Sunday schools were first 
organized about the close of the year 1781 by Robert 
Raikes, a printer of Gloucester, England. 

Business leading him into the suburb of the town in- 
habited by the lowest class of the people, he was st.rnek 
with concern at seeing a group of children, miserably rag- 
ged, at play. 

He was informed that on Sunday the street was filled 
with such children who, having no employment on that 
day, spent their time in noise and riot, brawling and gam- 
bling, and cursing and swearing. 

To check this deplorable profanation of the Lord's 
day, he engaged several women to instruct as many chil- 
dren as he should send them on the Sunday in reading 
and the church catechism, for which they were to receive 
one shilling each. 

In a short time a visible improvement was seen both 
in the manners and morals of the children who came in 
considerable numbers ; they attended church with their 
teachers, and a great many learned to read and say their 
catechism. 

Such was the origin of the Sunday school. Numerous 
schools, formed on the same model, sprang up in all the 



8i 

principal towns, and a society was formed in London in 
1785 for the establishment and support of Sunday schools 
throughout the kingdom, which in fourteen years expend- 
ed four thousand pounds in payment of teachers. 

But this was only the first stage of the Sunday school. 
The great impediment to its prosperity was the expense 
of hiring so many teachers. Even in Gloucester, the birth- 
place of the Sunday school, after Mr. Raikes' death in 
181 1, all the Sunday schools were closed for a time owing 
to the want of funds. 

Who ever first conceived the idea of gratuitous in- 
struction has nearly as great merit as Mr. Raikes himself, 
but probably it was suggested by necessity to many minds 
in different places at the same time. It was the means of 
starting the Sunday school on a new career of success ; 
and the idea spread so rapidly that by the year 1800 the 
teaching was almost universally gratuitous. 

A higher class of teachers offered their services ; the 
schools ceased to be filled by the very poorest alone ; hand- 
some buildings were erected, and that system was organ- 
ized which has encircled the globe and which today is ac- 
knowledged by every one as the greatest ally of the Chris- 
tian Church in the training of the young and in the for- 
mation and development of Christian character. 

About fifty years ago, the Sunday school entered 
upon a third stage of its history. The establishment of 
the public school with its system of free education obviat- 
ed the necessity for teaching reading in Sunday schools, 
so that they gradually became restricted to religious in- 
struction. 

Within very recent years we have entered upon a new- 
epoch in Sunday school work. The most prominent fea- 
tures which have been lately introduced and which have 
greatly increased the efficiency of the work are, — a trained 
and well equipped corps of teachers; a uniform series of 



82 



lessons with the besr possible helps; a graded school; the 
cradle roll, and the home department. "Expansion and 
Co-operation" is the motto of the Sunday school today. 

Bible study will have an important place in the Ideal 
Church. The Sunday school should more properly and 
logically be called the Bible school. The latter title is far 
more appropriate and expressive. Sunday school conveys 
to the mind the idea of a school in session on Sunday; Bi- 
ble school presents the idea of Bible study. 

The object of the Bible school is the intelligent, sys- 
tematic and devout study of the Bible. Its predominant 
purpose is to make religious impressions upon the mind 
and heart, and to develop the Christian character and life. 

Owing to psychological law and conditions, it is self- 
evident that no effective work can be done in the Bible 
school without a graded course of study. The grades 
should conform to natural divisions. 

We suggest the following arrangement, — 

The Infant department comprises the period of infan- 
cy up to four years of age, which is generally known as the 
"Cradle Roll." As soon as possible in this period, the 
child should be consecrated to the cause and service of 
God, and its name should be enrolled as a member of the 
Infant department and as a probationer in the Church. 

The Cradle Roll can open the doors of homes which 
would otherwise be closed to religious influence. It is an 
excellent means to reach the hearts of parents, for "a lit- 
tle child shall lead them." The child itself will feel as he 
grows up that his life has been pre-empted by the Church, 
and that God has a special claim upon him. 

The Primary department consists of children from 
four to eight years of age. 

The child has now reached a sufficient age to attend 
the school. It is highly important that this department 
be under the care of a teacher well adapted for* the work. 



83 

The four years of this period should be devoted to teaching 
spiritual truths in a simple and interesting manner by 
means of Bible stories. 

When the child passes from this department, it should 
be able to repeat from memory certain familiar hymns of 
the church, the Lord's prayer, the ten commandments, 
the beatitudes and the twenty third psalm. 

During - his period, as well as the preceding one, greai 
emphasis should be given to the development of the child's 
intuitive love of the beautiful. None but bright, beautiful 
and attractive playthings should be put in its hands. Its 
attention should often be called to beautiful pictures, flow- 
ers, birds, etc. Beautiful thoughts and sentiments in les- 
sons or stories, should be pointed out and admired. Views 
of beautiful landscapes and strains of beautiful music 
should frequently be enjoyed. 

Not only should a child be taught to love those 
things which are positively or absolutely beautiful, but 
also those things which are relatively beautiful ; among 
which we might name tidiness, cleanliness, gentleness, 
kindness and politeness. In teaching the pupil these beau- 
tiful traits of character, the distinction between them and 
their opposites should be deeply impressed by examples 
of contrast. 

As this aesthetic development grows, children will 
unconsciously become disgusted with things that are dis- 
agreeable, ugly, hurtful and destructive. There will be a 
marked distinction between these, and things beautiful, 
which are harmless, elevating, ennobling, and which will 
lead to peace and happiness. 

This distinction should be cultivated until the chil- 
dren will have a perfect passion for that which is beauti- 
ful, grand and magnificent; and a little later, when the 
moral sense is unfolded, (which is also an intuition) it will 
be found that progress in moral culture will be in exac: 



84 

proportion to the development of this early love of the 
beautiful. For want of a proper development of the in- 
nate love of the beautiful, there is a lack of the love of 
righteousness ; for the one is evidently designed to corres- 
pond to the other. 

The Secondary department comprises children from 
eight to twelve years of age. 

The Bible lesson may be the same as that of the pre- 
vious period, but now the child is expected to read the 
text and to make some systematic home preparation. 

He is also required during this period to acquire a 
fair knowledge of the Church catechism which includes 
the great fundamental doctrines of the Christian religion. 

At this stage of life the moral sense becomes rapidly 
developed, and the child has now reached an age of suffi- 
cient discretion to realize his accountability to God and 
his need of salvation from sin. 

The Junior and Senior grades have the same lesson, 
and are designed to cover the whole Bible in about seven 
years, corresponding with the present admirable course of 
international lessons. 

The Junior course of study will be more concrete and 
less critical than that of the Senior, though both grades 
will aim at thoroughness and endeavor to bring out the 
details of doctrine, geography and history connected with 
each lesson. 

Upon the completion of the Junior course, the stu- 
dent, who will ordinarily be about nineteen years of age at 
that time, will be promoted to the Senior grade, there to 
remain with the assured conviction that he can never be 
too old to learn, but that there are always new truths and 
greater treasures to be obtained from that inexhaustible 
mine, — the Word of God. 

The alternating system of Bible study from the Old 



85 

to the New Testament every six months is greatly to be 
preferred to a consecutive course of study. 

In the Junior grade, when the boy or girl is passing 
through the period of greatest mental development, it 
gives a proportionate share of law and gospel, history and 
doctrine, both of which are essential ; and even in the 
Senior grade, it affords variety and thus helps to sustain 
the interest. 

This alternating system of studying the Bible is 
neither unphilosophical nor illogical. The text book on 
science in our public schools must be studied consecutive- 
ly from the beginning; the student is led gradually from 
that which is easy to that which is more difficult ; and each 
succeeding lesson is based upon what has been previously 
learned, but w T ith the Bible it is entirely different. 

While a symmetrical unity prevails throughout the 
entire book, and in one sense it is a complete whole, un- 
folding to us God's revelation to man, yet in another sense, 
it consists of a number of smaller books written under di- 
vine inspiration by different men at different periods of 
time. It is full of historic incidents, biographical sketches, 
moral and religious teachings and it can be as readily 
studied at one place at at another. 

THE RELATION OF CHILDREN TO THE 
CHURCH. 

Having followed the child through the several grades 
of the Bible school, this appears to be the most opportune 
place to discuss the relation of children to the Church. 

As soon as the child is consecrated to God, its name 
should be enrolled as a probationer of the Church. It is 
not only becoming but also Scriptural that children should, 
as early as possible, be presented to the Lord. 

For certain reasons we think some other form of con- 
secration is preferable to infant baptism. 



86 



The principal things in infant baptism which com- 
mend it to our favor are a recognition of the child's right 
in the kingdom of God, and the solemn vow made by the 
parents that it shall receive proper discipline and training. 
Both these things will be subserved by a form of conse- 
cration. 

Baptism will then assume its primitive sacramental 
meaning as an outward sign of an inward work of grace. 
In the Scriptures, baptism always succeeds repentence and 
faith, and never preceeds them. When applied to a child 
as a sacrament, it becomes meaningless unless we believe 
in baptismal regeneration which is altogether unwarrant- 
ed by the word of God. 

The Ideal Church, then, will dedicate children to the 
service of God by a solemn and fitting form of consecra- 
tion, reserving the sacrament of baptism for a later period 
to indicate a confession of saving faith in the Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

The child, having passed through the Primary and 
Secondary grades of the Bible school, comes to the end of 
his probation. He now reaches the age of accountability, 
when he must make a decision. He must either renounce 
the world, choose Christ and his Church, publicly confess 
him as the Savior; or he must step out of his relation to 
the Church which he has thus far held. 

Instead of considering him outside of the Church, and 
urging him to come in, he is urged to stay in by taking 
an advanced step. The burden of responsibility rests upon 
him where it rightfully belongs. He has reached a crisis 
where definite action is required, either for or against 
Christ. 

It is a mistaken idea, often fraught with fatal results, 
to suppose that a child must grow up in sin and become 
wicked, and then by violent exertion and wrestling at an 
altar of prayer come back to God. 



87 

Man's natural relation to God through life can be 
illustrated by a stream of water. Near the source, it re- 
quires very little effort to cross ; the farther down the 
stream you go, the wider it becomes, the more rapid the 
current and the more difficult to cross. 

A child is only a step from God, and the transition 
from the world into the kingdom of grace is exceedingly 
easy. Childhood is the divinely appointed time in which 
to be brought into a proper relationship to God. Children 
have pre-eminently a simple faith, a teachable spirit, an 
impressionable mind and a tender heart ; indeed, the Mas- 
ter says that older people must be like them if they would 
be saved. 

A word of caution may be necessary at this point. A 
child can not grow into the kingdom of God. Conversion 
is a definite work of grace. There must be a definite re- 
nunciation of the world, a definite surrender of self, a defi- 
nite trust in Christ, and in him alone, for salvation. 

Regeneration is the result of divine power exerted 
upon the soul, and "the Spirit itself beareth witness with 
our spirit, that we are the children of God." 



CHAPTER VII. 



INDUSTRIAL DEPARTMENT. 

One of the great perils marring the prosperity of tne 
people and threatening our national life is corporate greed. 
The bulk of the wealth of this nation is owned by propor- 
tionately a few men, and under existing conditions it is 
very easy for the rich to become richer and the poor, 
poorer. 

There are more millionaires in the United Staites than 
in any other country, and at the present rate, in fifty years 
hence there will <be as many large fortunes in America as 
in all the countries of Europe combined. 

Corporations pay dividends and capital gets its due 
interest, but in too many instances the laborer is scrimped' 
for the necessities of a decent life, and deprived of liberty 
and self respect by the irresponsible exactions of soulless 
companies, to which liberty of conscience is often sold for 
daily bread. 

The great question of capital and labor is causing 
considerable unrest among the people, and they are anx- 
iously awaiting a fair and equitable settlement of this issue 
which is so closely related to their domestic and temporal 
welfare. 

The whole issue at bottom is very largely a moral one. 

It is a question of righteousness rather than a prob- 
lem of tariff or currency. 

Can a man make a fortune by cornering pork or 
wheat, and, by giving a fraction of the proceeds to found 
an institution, pose as a Christian philanthropist? Can a 
man make hundreds of millions in an industry by crushing 



s 9 

out hundreds from the held by monopolistic power and 
shrewdness, and, after founding a hospital, orphanage or 
university and receiving the applause of Christian conven- 
tions, be great in the kingdom of heaven? Can a man im- 
poverish hundreds of laboring families in order to pay a 
company's dividends, and advance the kingdom of heaven 
by founding a costly church with the proceeds? 

The enforcement of the decalogue and an answer to 
the Lord's prayer would be a death blow to current politi- 
cal economy, and would undoubtedly ruin many a stock 
company and private fortune. 

Who can consistently begin "Our Father," and for- 
get that his fellows on the street and in the shop or store 
are not opponents to be crushed, but members of the one 
common brotherhood of man? 

Is it not mockery to say "Thy Kingdom Come," when 
our social life is organized on the competitive basis of the 
survival of the strongest? 

Any church which refuses to put forth an effort to 
ameliorate this lamentable state of affairs is false to her 
high mission, which is to rescue the perishing, raise the 
fallen and succor the distressed. 

It is the imperative duty of the Church to see that 
all men have an equal opportunity and that every man's 
success shall be commensurate with his industry and econ- 
omy. 

This is the socialism of the fifth chapter of Matthew, 
the communism of the Gospel, which was revealed and 
preached to rich and poor by the Savior of men ; but which 
must not be confounded, however, with those dangerous 
socialistic schemes that decry industry and seek to nullify 
law and subvert government. 

The Ideal Church recognizes the industrial condition 
of society to be of such importance as to devote one de- 



9° 

partment of its work to its special care known as the In- 
dustrial Department. 

The physical welfare of man is very closely allied to 
his intellectual and spiritual welfare. 

It may seem a laudable enterprise for the Church to 
endeavor to save a man's soul when he is submerged by 
physical slavery and with mind and body wearied with the 
effort of making a mere livelihood. Such a man is in no 
condition, either to hear or receive the Gospel ; and even 
though he is a member of the church, his body and mind 
are so jaded that he can not give his best thought and en- 
deavor to the work of the church. 

The Church must lift him up from his physical degra- 
dation and drudgery and place him upon the level of one 
common brotherhood. 

Have you ever noticed that important committees ap- 
pointed by church bodies nearly always consist of men 
noted for their -wealth? 

It frequently occurs, too, even in church circles, that 
a young man with a well filled purse and with little heart 
and brains can enter "society" while a young man with 
plenty of heart and brains, but a slender purse, is debarred. 

The Church must overcome this class distinction be- 
fore she can reach the people and expect to evangelize the 
world, and there is no better way than to give labor its true, 
position of dignity and honor. 

All wealth is the product of labor. The millions in 
the coffers of the rich come from labor. Our national 
prosperity does not emanate from Wall Street, nor from 
the politicians who too often look upon office as a share 
of the spoils rather than as a position of public trust, but 
it comes from our shops, mines, factories, commerce and 
labor of every description. Labor is the only producer 
of wealth. 



What can the Ideal Church do to emancipate labor? 
First, — Every man shall enjoy the full benefit of his 
toil. 

This will mean a great reduction in his hours of la- 
bor, and help to put things in their proper proportion. 

All that a man wants in this world, in a physical 
sense, is food, clothing and shelter. His efforts to procure 
these things should be only incidental and not the chief 
aim of life. God has given him not only a body to be sus- 
tained but also a mind to be cultivated and a soul to be 
saved unto eternal life. 

But how is it under existing circumstances? — Take 
the miner for instance. As a boy he goes into the break- 
er, sits upon a hard plank and picks slate nine hours a 
day. As he advances in years, he is promoted to work 
"inside,'' first as a driver, then a loader and finally a miner. 
If he escapes death from a fall of rock or coal, or from an 
explosion of gas, and lives to* be old, if he is not suffering 
too much from "miner's asthma," superinduced by the foul 
air in which he has been working for so many years, he 
goes back again to the breaker and ends where he began 
— picking slate. 

This is not an exceptional case for the same principle 
holds true with the average workman in any trade or oc- 
cupation. Life is a perpetual grind and there is no ambi- 
tion nor energy left for anything else. 

The whole trouble lies in the fact that because of cor- 
porate greed, labor receives only about one-half of what it 
earns. 

It has been asserted by those who have made it a care- 
ful study that if labor had its just deserts, four hours a 
day would be sufficient to supply man's physical wants, 
but let us allow a wide margin and say that six hours a 



9 2 

day are needed; what a different aspect life would then 
assume to millions of our race ! 

"But," says one, "is not capital justly entitled to a 
share in the profits of labor?" I answer, why should not 
the Church supply the capital for the advancement of hu- 
manity and the glory of God, rather than have the capital- 
ist make an investment for gain? Surely a church that 
can expend millions to carry the Gospel to heathen lands 
ought to be able and willing to furnish the means to ele- 
vate man's industrial condition which is so necessary to 
his well-being. 

Instead of putting thousands of dollars into a costlv 
pile of architecture, would it not be 'better to have less ex- 
pensive church buildings, if need 'be, rather than neglect 
this very practical form of Christian philanthropy? 

Second, — Labor shall be wrought upon the basis of 
co-operation, instead of competition. 

Every man is entitled to a fair compensation for his 
work. 

Instead of regulating the price of a man's labor by 
the price of goods often reduced to the very lowest point 
by competition and the sweat-shop system, the price of 
goods ought to be regulated by the price of a man's labor. 
Labor should have the primary consideration. 

Hence, it is absolutely necessary that there be co-op- 
eration, not only in the production or manufacture, but 
also in the distribution or sale of goods. The selling price 
must be compatible with good workmanship and proper 
wages. 

"Live, and let live" should be the motto of every fair- 
minded Christian man, not only in theory but in practice 
as well. 

Such an application of the Golden Rule would forever 
settle the labor problem. 



93 

Third, — The establishment of a Home Building Fund, 
from which reputable and industrious persons can borrow 
money to build or buy homes for themselves with the priv- 
ilege of returning it in monthly installments without in- 
terest. 

Every worthy man is entitled to own his own home. 
The house he lives in should not be a matter of financial 
speculation to some one else. 

Religious denominations establish funds to build 
churches, endow schools, educate young men ; why not a 
fund to build homes, a matter of supreme importance to 
the physical comfort and the very manhood of a man ? 

The man who lives in a house as a tenant at the will 
and wish of another cannot have that home pride and 
feeling that he should have. The home is the citadel of 
the republic, the very foundation of religion and society. 
No better evidence of practical help can be shown than 
the establishment of such a fund. 

Observe, there is no interest. The speculative idea is 
entirely eradicated. Every dollar returned is applied to 
the payment of the loan to be used in other loans, so that 
the money is used over and over again being continually 
sent out on its noble and beneficent mission enabling men 
to stand upon their feet, to look the world in the face, and 
to realize that they and their loved ones are living be- 
neath their own roof. 

Fourth, — One day in the week for rest and recreation. 

By common consent and usage, the first day of the 
week, called the Lord's day, is set apart by the Church 
and recognized by the State as a day for religious wor- 
ship. The Lord's day, however, is not a day of rest but a 
day of strenuous Christian endeavor and service. With 
many persons Sunday is the most laborious day of the 
week. Moreover, a large number of persons, especially 



94 

among the working people, if they want any time for 
themselves, usually take Sunday because all their other 
time is required by their secular duties. 

Why not have one day in the week for physical rest 
And, as a preparation for the activities of the Lord's day, 
there is no day more fitting than the seventh day of the 
week. The fact that such an arrangement may seem to 
favor the seventh-day Sabbath is no argument against it 
but may really be considered an argument for it by 
many persons who are not clear in their own minds con- 
cerning the Sabbath question. 

They hold that the ten commandments, as the moral 
law, are entirely distinct from the ceremonial law of the 
Jews and that we have no more right to change one of 
them than we have to change another; they also hold that 
the seventh-day rest antedates all Jewish law and was 
intended for all men as a commemoration of creation. 

By associating the cessation of the usual routine of 
daily toil with the seventh day of the week, there would 
not necessarily be any detraction from the Lord's day but 
it would rather emphasize the true significance of that day, 
— the joyful commemoration of resurrection and re-crea- 
tion, which is the central fact of Christianity, the keystone 
of the Gospel arch, the hope of humanity. 

A general observance of such a rest da}- would no: 
revolutionize social conditions. Its practicability can be 
seen in the fact that at the present time, all the teachers 
employed and the pupils enrolled in the schools of our 
country, comprising about twenty-three per cent, of the 
entire population, observe Saturday as a day of rest ; and 
if it is beneficial for the mental toiler, why not for the 
physical toiler 

FINANCE. 

Since the Industrial department is so closely related 
to the temporal interests of the members of the Ideal 



95 

Church, it is appropriate that the Chairman of this depart- 
ment should be the Treasurer of the church and have 
charge of her financial operations. 

The Church of Jesus Christ needs an abundance of 
money. Her mission is to evangelize the world ; to carry 
the Gospel to every creature ; to elevate man's social and 
industrial condition ; to furnish ample provision for the 
sick and needy ; and to be foremost in every benevolent 
enterprise. 

Our people are asked to give to the support of the 
Gospel and the various benevolent enterprises of the 
Church according to their ability. This accords with the 
New Testament idea of every person giving according as 
the Lord has prospered him. 

But who is to gauge a man's ability? It is not fair to 
leave it to a man's conscience, for conscience may be very 
uncertain and fluctuating in this matter. There may be 
two men having the same income, and the same claims 
upon them for expenses, but the one may have an open 
handed and liberal disposition, while the other has a sor- 
did and selfish nature, so that you will find a vast differ- 
ence between their contributions and yet both will feel 
that they are giving as the Lord has prospered them. 

The principles of equity and justice demand propor- 
tionate giving. This is the only true and intelligent meth- 
od of giving according as the Lord has prospered us, and 
if the Jew who lived in the dim dawn of the coming day 
was required to give one-tenth of his income, surely we, 
with increased privileges and enlarged blessings, should 
not do less. 

"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there 
may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, 
saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows 
of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall 
not be room enough to receive it." Mai. 3:10. 



9 6 

This passage of Scripture is frequently quoted as re- 
ferring to spiritual blessings ; but, while it is true that a 
thorough consecration of substance, time and talent will 
secure spiritual blessing, it is also true that the promise 
refers specifically to temporal blessing as is shown in the 
succeeding verses : "And I will rebuke the devourer for 
your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your 
ground ; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the 
time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations 
shall /call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, 
saith the Lord of hosts." 

I know of numerous instances where persons have 
adopted the tithing system, and in each case the Lord 
nas verified his promise by giving increased temporal pros- 
perity. 

The tithing system will obviate the necessity of lift- 
ing the "penny collection," no doubt so called because of 
the abundance of pennies and the scarcity of other coins. 
If you examine the contents of the collection plates of the 
ordinary congregation you will find that they invariably 
consist of copper with perhaps here and there a few stray 
coins of larger value. 

This idea is so prevalent that if a number of pennies 
are passed from one person to another in making change, 
the remark is frequently made that it is "church money." 

I have heard ministers and even bishops say, while 
announcing the collection, that it was a part of the divine 
service and an act of religious worship ; but it seems, at 
least to me, that the gathering of these coppers from the 
people rather belittles the worship of God and detracts 
from the decorum and dignity which belong to such a ser- 
vice. God deserves the best we have and not the frag- 
ments. 

The tithing system will also obviate the necessity of 



91 

collecting money which at the present time consumes so 
much of the energy and time of the church. It will eradi- 
cate the monetary basis. The predominant cry in church 
conferences, conventions, etc., is for money, money, — as 
though that were the chief purpose for which the Church 
was organized. We scarcely ever receive a communica- 
tion from the church authorities but what it contains an 
appeal for financial aid ; but with an overflowing treasury 
in every church, as the result of intelligent and sytematic 
giving, efforts to raise money will be superfluous. The 
question with each church will not be how can we raise 
money for this or that object, but how can we uses our 
money to the best advantage? How much shall we give 
to this or that cause? 

Systematic giving will eliminate from the church all 
those questionable methods of raising money, such as 
fairs, festivals, socials, etc., which are now so much in 
vogue, and which drain the spiritual life and power of the 
church. Such methods do irreparable harm because they 
encourage people to believe that by patronizing these 
things they are giving to the cause of God, when they are 
only performing an ordinary business transaction, paying 
for what they receive and seeking to gratify their personal 
pleasure and appetite. A child with such training will 
grow up with a very little sense of personal obligation and 
responsibility to the Church of God. 

Who ever heard of a sock social or a measuring" party 
to build a school house, to pay a teacher's salary, or to 
pave a street? The State, which really practices propor- 
tionate giving for its maintenance, is wiser than the Church 
with her random methods of support ; and yet there ought 
to be as much moral obligation and method in the one case 
as in the other. 

Systematic giving will also help to check the dis- 



9» 

reputable and reprehensible practice of grading men as 
ministers of Jesus Christ according to the salary they re- 
ceive. This grading system, which is frequently an arbi- 
trary arrangement based on favoritism rather than real 
worth, is in vogue in many of our churches and even 
openly acknowledged and worked by those in authority. 

When a man's success as a minister is measured by his 
salary, then has the Church departed very far indeed from 
her original design. If there is any place in this wide 
world where monetary consideration should sink into utter 
insignificance, it is in reference to ministerial appointments 
and ministerial support. 

The Ideal Church will insist upon the absolute abo- 
lition of the financial grading of ministers. She will not 
pay $500 to one man and $2,500 to another man, with the 
probability that the former does more real effective work 
than the latter, which is frequently the case; but she will 
give every man a decent and comfortable support. If one 
congregation is financially straitened and not able to do it, 
others will come to the rescue ; they will not forget "to 
support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord 
Jesus, how He said, It is more blessed to give than to re- 
ceive." Acts 20:35. 



APPENDIX. 



THE CHRISTIAN DEGREE. 

The name of Christian was not the first by which the 
followers of Christ were distinguished. Their enemies 
called them Galileans, Nazarenes, and other names of con- 
tempt ; and among themselves they were called Saints, from 
their holiness ; Disciples, from their learning their religion 
from Christ as their teacher; Believers, from their believing 
in him as the Messiah ; and Brethren, from their mutual 
love and their relation to God and each other. But after 
some time they were distinguished by the name of Chris- 
tians, which' name they first received at Antioch. 

What is it to be a Christian? To be a Christian, in 
the popular and fashionable sense, is no difficult or excel- 
lent thing. It is to- be baptized, to profess the Christian 
religion, to attend upon public worship once a week, in 
some church that bears the Christian name. In this sense, 
a man may be a Christian, and yet be habitually careless 
about eternal things ; a Christian, and yet fall short of the 
morality of many of the heathens ; a Christian, and yet a 
slave to vice and an impenitent offender against God and 
man. 

In our day the word "Christian" is so universally ap- 
plied, and made so all-inclusive, as to have become a 
meaningless term. Its deeper significance has been largely 
forgotten. And yet how full of force and inspiration it is 
when viewed in the original and proper sense of the word. 

To be a Christian is to be like Christ, from whom the 
name is taken ; it is to be a follower or imitator of him ; to 
be possessed of his spirit; and to live as he lived in the 



LofC. 



world ; it is to have our sentiments, our disposition, and 
practice formed upon the sacred model of the Gospel. 

"Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart 
from iniquity." 2 Tim. 2:19. 

"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, 
and take up his cross daily, and follow me." Luke 9 123. 

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ 
Jesus." Philip 2 15. 

If you claim the name of Christian, where is that ardent 
devotion, that supreme love to God, that zeal for his glory, 
that alacrity in his service, that resignation to his will, that 
generous benevolence to mankind, that meekness and for- 
bearance under ill usage, that unwearied activity in doing 
good to all, and that self-denial which shone so conspicu- 
ously in the life of Christ, whose holy name you bear? 

Let me also remind you that the Christian name is not 
hereditary to you by natural birth, but you must be born 
again of the Spirit to entitle you to this new name ; and 
that the Spirit itself beareth witness with your spirit, that 
you are a child of God. 

That we may more clearly know the validity of your 
claim to this title, and that you may have an opportunity 
to declare your purpose, it is proper that we now ask you 
to answer the following questions : 

Have you truly and earnestly repented of your sins? 

Have you saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? 

Will you guard yourself against all things contrary to 
the teaching of God's Word, and endeavor to lead a holy 
life, following the commandments of God? 

W'ill you earnestly strive by the help of God, so to 
conduct yourself as to bring no discredit to your profes- 
sion, and no dishonor to the name of Christ? 



SOME CHRISTIANS WHOM WE KNOW. 
THE SQUARE CHRISTIAN. 



He has straight lines. He has angles, but they are 
right angles. Every side of him is equal to every other 
side, which shows that he is well-balanced. He also fits in 
a square place. 

The religion of Jesus Christ beams from his counte- 
nance. There is no necessity for him to tell his neighbors 
that he is a Christian ; they know it, for they can see it. 
His voice brings cheer; his hand-shake brings comfort; his 
very presence is a benediction. 

The square Christian loves the means of grace. He 
is a regular attendant, not simply because it is a duty, but 
because it is a privilege and a delight. He will not decline 
a call to service, but is always ready to lend a helping hand 
in any good work. 

Every one has confidence in his character and integ- 
rity. His word is as good as his bond. If there is a sick 
or dying man in the community, however worldly he may 
be, he wants the square Christian, and none other, to come 
in and pray with him. 

THE NARROW CHRISTIAN. 



He has straight lines, but there is more of him on one 



T02 



"side than the other. He is conscientious, but lacks dis- 
cretion. His judgment is warped. 

When you look through a colored glass, every object 
vou see appears to have the same color as the glass, so the 
narrow Christian looks at things according to his peculiar 
notions. It is very likely that he has a hobby upon which 
he harps to the exclusion of everything else. 

He gauges things according to his preconceived and 
distorted ideas, and therefore, though well-meaning, he is 
apt to be harsh and uncharitable, and very often produces 
considerable trouble for the pastor and the Church. 

THE BROAD CHRISTIAN. 



He is straight but too wide. He was square until the 
Church pulled one way and the world the other. 

The broad Christian does not believe in being too 
strict, or in taking religion too seriously. Instead of being 
on fire with zeal for God and the salvation of souls, he 
spends his time in discussing such questions as, — Is it 
wrong for a Christian to dance ; to take a glass of beer ; to 
go to the theatre, or to play a social game of cards? 

By looking at the broad Christian, you would suppose 
that there was scarcely any line at all between the Church 
and the world. He believes in having the good things of 
both, and causes incalculable harm to the Church of God. 

THE PARALLEL CHRISTIAN. 



Lines are parallel to each other when however far they 
may be extended, they do not come together. Let the one 



line represent religion, and the other line may represent 
business, daily employment, or politics. Being parallel, 
they never touch each other. 

. The parallel Christian thinks that religion is religion, 
business is business, and politics is politics. He is opposed 
to mixing them. He thinks that his ballot is too personal 
and sacred for his religion to interfere with it. He does 
not believe in taking his religion into his business, nor his 
business tact into his religion. 

If these two lines were firmly and regularly connected 
they would make an excellent Jacob's ladder on which sin- 
cere prayers could ascend, and divine blessings could de- 
scend. 

THE ANGULAR CHRISTIAN. 




He will not fit in a square position, but tries !to be 
angular. The angular Christian is to be found in almost 
every church. He is the chronic grumbler, the peevish 
fault-finder, the irritating pessimist. He continually looks 
on the dark side, and talks as though the devil were vic- 
torious, and God defeated, and the Church going to pieces, 
and everything- that is good approaching a general smash- 
up. 

He has also an angular tongue, greatly given to gos- 
sip and scandal. He has no use for the class meeting, be- 
cause he says that the testimonies generally given there are 
hypocritical. He has usually too many other engagements 



104 

to attend prayer meeting. He is an encumbrance, pre- 
venting the progress of the Church, and the Church would 
be much better off without him. 

- THE ROUND CHRISTIAN. 




He doesn't begin anywhere, and doesn't end anywhere. 
He has only one side, and that is every side. 

The round Christian favors policy rather than princi- 
ple, and is ready to sacrifice conviction for the sake of gain- 
ing public approbation. 

Such persons never accomplish anything ; they have no 
mental force ; they have no moral power ; what they say, 
nobody thinks of noticing ; what they do is scarcely ever 
imitated. 

The man who is swayed to and fro by every wave of 
public opinion, and who must put his finger on the public 
pulse to find out what other people think and believe be- 
fore he announces his own position, can never rise above 
that which is ordinary ; but the man who makes an intelli- 
gent study of the great questions of the day, who has a 
mind of his own, who takes a determined stand for what 
he believes is right, and then has the courage of his convic- 
tions in maintaining it, will wield a positive influence and 
become a leader among men. 



HOW TO BUILD A SQUARE CHRISTIAN. 





COMMON 


SENSE 






LOVE 


LOVE 




FAITH 


L. J. 


c. 


WORK 




LOVE 


LOVE 





PRAYER 



Put at the bottom, "Prayer." Prayer is absolutely 
needful to salvation, and the habit of prayer is one of the 
surest marks of a true Christian. 

Put on the left, "Faith." A firm trust and an un- 
wavering confidence in Christ are necessary for any spirit- 
ual life and growth. Without faith it is impossible to 
please God. 

Put on the right, "Work." Faith and works must go 
together. They are like the two oars of a boat. If only 
one oar is used, the boat will swing around in a circle with- 
out making any progress. Faith without works is dead. 

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see 
your good works, and glorify your Father which is m 
heaven." Matt. 5 :i6. 

Put on the top, "Common Sense." You can not 
make a square Christian without common sense. Wisdom, 
spiritual discretion, sanctified sense, are choice qualities 
which are greatly needed in the Christian Church. 

Put these together with "Love" at every corner. Love 
is the controlling force in the Christian religion. "Herein 
is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and 
sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, 
if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 1 
John 4:10, 11. Not only are we to love God and those who 
are of the household of faith, but we are commanded by 
our Lord to love our enemies, to bless them that curse us, 



io6 

to do good to them that hate us, and to pray for them 
which despitefully use us, and persecute us. 

Put inside of him, the "Lord Jesus Christ/' If a 
Christian would be sound in his doctorine, happy in his ex- 
perience, consistent in his life, faithful in his service and 
successful in his work, Jesus must occupy the chief place in 
his thought and affection. Let Him, therefore, sit upon the 
throne and reign supremely, and your life will be filled with 
the boundless treasures of His grace. 



THE WARRIOR DEGREE. 

The Christian life is often compared in Scripture to a 
warfare. Followers of Jesus are "soldiers." They are 
exhorted to put on "the whole armor of God." They 
"fight the good fight of faith." 

The teaching of the Bible is that there is an unseen 
organized kingdom of evil opposing the kingdom and peo- 
ple of God. We wrestle not against mere flesh and blood. 
These, although the visible, are not our real enemies. Not 
only do we wrestle against inbred corruption, the opposi- 
tion of persecuters, the enticement of wicked men, the al- 
lurements of the world, but also against those invisible and 
formidable principalities and powers that rule the darkness 
of this world and work in the children of disobedience. 
Even Satan and his hosts, who are the great authors of 
man's ignorance, idolatry, impiety, delusion, and iniquity 
all over the world. Behind them, Satan himself is the com- 
manding spirit. 

It is a war between the world, the flesh, and the devil 
on one side, and Christ and his Gospel on the other. It is 
not an affair of strategy between two vast armies, 
wherein skillful manoeuvres determine the issue, many on 
either side never coming into actual combat ; but every 
Christian has to fight hand to hand with the enemy. 

This war has been waged for centuries, and is carried 
on as relentlessly and vigorously today as ever. It is im- 
possible to occupy a neutral position. You are either 
fighting for God or against 'him. Christ says, "He that is 
not with me is against me ; and he that gathereth not with 
me scattereth abroad. Matt. 12:30. 

A mere profession of religion is of no avail. It is not 



io8 

enough for our name to appear on the muster-roll of the 
camp. Many wear the soldier's dress who know nothing of 
the soldier's heart. It is not enough to buckle on the 
armor for a month or a year, and then lay it aside again. 
We must devote ourselves entirely and unreservedly to 
this great daily battle of life. 

There is no exemption on account of circumstances ; 
no exemption of place or of time. Satan never beats a 
retreat, except to lead us into an ambuscade. If we parley, 
it is at our peril ; if we pause, we are wounded or taken 
captive. It is a war of extermination ; no quarter is given ; 
either we must trample Satan under foot, or Satan will 
drag us down to hell. 

That we may more fully understand your position in 
this warfare, and that you may have an opportunity to de- 
clare your purpose, it is proper that we now ask you to 
answer the following questions : — 

Have you thrown down every weapon of rebellion and 
made a full surrender of yourself to God? 

Do you acknowledge God's rightful claim to your ser- 
vice and obedience, and do you cheerfully enlist in this 
great fight against Satan and sin and for Christ and right- 
eousness? 

Are you determined by the grace of God to endure 
hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, and never to 
relinquish the battle as long as life shall last? 

Will you put on the whole armor of God and use it 
valiantly in the service of our great Commander, never for- 
getting that his mission to this world is to destroy the 
works of the devil? 



THE CHRISTIAN ARMOR. 
Though the conflict is arduous, the encouragements 
are great. ' For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, 



109 

but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong- 
holds." 2 Cor. 10:4. The mighty power of God gives 
edge to the weapon and force to the blow. When God 
gives the commission, the stately walls of Jericho will fall, 
even at the feeble sound of rams' horns ; the strongholds 
of Satan shall be utterly demolished before the trusty and 
valiant soldier of the cross. We have an invincible armor 
which affords complete protection. 

THE GIRDLE. 

The loins are girt about with truth. This is to the 
Christian what the tightened girdle is to the soldier. Not 
truth lodged in the intellect, but truth inwardly received, 
as when the Psalmist says, "Thy word have I hid in my 
heart." A Christian thus girded is strong. He is saved 
from those feeble, lax, and indefinite views of duty and re- 
ligion which make one an easy prey to the tempter. 

This also makes character truthful. It leads to trans- 
parency of heart and life, and the Christian holding out to 
the world a sincere and consistent example, Satan has no 
advantage over him. Therefore, be true, — true to yourself, 
to your conscience, to your Church, to your country, and 
to your God ! 

THE BREASTPLATE. 
"Having on the breastplate of righteousness." This 
is designed to protect the heart, which Satan tries most to 
wound. "Keep thy heart with all diligence ; for out of it 
are the issues of life." Prov. 4:23. "Blessed are the pure 
in heart ; for they shall see God." Mat. 5 :8. 

THE SANDALS. 
A soldier's feet should be so clad as to take firm hold 
upon the ground, and at the same time admit of easy mo- 
tion. These qualities the "preparation of the Gospel of 
peace" abundantly supplies. The Christian has beneath 



no 

him the Rock of Ages : hence no power can cause his feet 
to slide. His motion also is made easy; for at the cross 
he has left his burden. He can now "run and not be 
weary, walk and not faint." The Lord has brought him 
up "out of ail. horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set his 
feet upon a rock, and established his goings.''' 

THE SHIELD. 

"Above all," that is, over all, so as to protect all, "take 
the shield of faith wherewith you shall be able to quench 
all the fiery darts of the wicked one." The shield is a 
movable piece of armor which is used to intercept the darts 
of the enemy from whatever direction or to whatever part 
of the body they may be hurled ; and so the shield of faith 
protects the whole Christian. 

This shield protects the head. In these days of so- 
called higher criticism and speculative thought, there are 
many strange and erroneous doctrines. If we have an un- 
shaken faith in God, we shall not be swayed by every wind 
that blows, but shall be able to hold fast to the pure and 
unadulterated truth as it is in Christ Jesus. 

This shield protects the Christian's heart. When 
an army seeks to capture a stronghold of the enemy, it is 
customary to send out emissaries to examine the fortifica- 
tions of the enemy, and if there are any weak or unguarded 
places, they will concentrate all their forces at such points 
to effect an entrance, and thus gain possession. And so 
the great adversary of our souls knows our weak points, 
and uses all his ingenuity and strength in attacking these 
weak places in our nature that he may gain the mastery 
over us and obtain possession of our hearts and lives. 

But an unwavering trust in God will keep the adver- 
sary at bay. for "the angel of the Lord encampeth round 
about them that fear him. and delivereth them." Psa. 34:7. 

This shield protects the Christian's knees. Some- 



1 1 1 



times our knees become weak through the neglect of 
prayer. The beginning of backsliding is to be found not 
in the house of God, but in the closet. A praying Chris- 
tian will never be found off his guard. Our religion must 
consist very largely in private devotion. Therefore, have 
a regular time each day for communion with God, and al- 
low nothing else to interfere with it. 

This shield protects the Christian's feet. "The 
steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord : and he de- 
lighteth in his way." Psa. 37:23. His goings are estab- 
lished, and none of his steps shall slide. 

A young lady once asked her pastor whether she could 
go to a dance. "Yes,*' said he, "you can go provided you 
can take Jesus with you." That is a safe rule to follow. 
Never go to any place or into any company except where 
you can have the positive assurance of the presence and 
fellowship of your Lord. 

"Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go, 1 
Anywhere He leads me in this world below; 

Anywhere without him, dearest joys would fade, 
Anywhere with Jesus I am not afraid." 

In the Bible the most signal triumphs are ascribed to 
faith ; by it Abel, and Noah, and Abraham, and Moses 
achieved glorious victories. Others "through faith sub- 
dued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, 
stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, 
escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made 
strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies 
of the aliens." Heb. 11:33, 34- Faith appropriates all 
God's promises and goes forward with an assured confi- 
dence in final victory. 

THE HELMET. 

One other piece completes the Christian's defensive 
armor. On his head is the "helmet of the hope of 



I I 2 

salvation." There is no more ornamental part of a soldier's 
dress than the helmet ; nor is there anything that more 
adorns and animates the Christian than a lively and consist- 
ent hope, not a vague and shadowy feeling that perhaps 
he- may be saved, but a steadfast confidence which brings 
no fear of disappointment. 

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath be- 
gotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of 
Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, 
and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven 
for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith 
unto salvation." i Pet. I 13-5. 

THE SWORD. 

In the Christian armor there is but one aggressive 
weapon, — "the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of 
God." This weapon is "sharper than a two-edged sword/' 
and produces consternation in the camp of the enemy. 
This is the weapon which Christ used when he was person- 
ally assailed by Satan ; he drove him back each time by — 
"It is written." 

Wherever the Word of God is preached in its purity 
and power, ignorance, superstition, and idolatry must flee; 
wherever its principles are fully established, every form of 
oppression, malice, and strife must go down ; and peace, 
justice, and righteousness shall prevail. Just as sure as this 
land was redeemed from slavery, the day is coming when 
the liquor oligarchy, industrial oppression, and everv form 
of vice and tyranny shall be swept away before the mighty 
destructive power of the Word of God. 

God's Word has also a wonderful constructive 
force. It not only pulls down the wrong but builds up the 
right. It wields an immeasurable influence for good gov- 
ernment, and is a greater defence for the nation than all 



H3 

her fleets and armies. It stands for the elevation of woman- 
hood, the emancipation of childhood, the sanctification of 
the home, and the maintenance of every institution which 
is designed for man's temporal and eternal happiness. 

The Christian armor is to be used courageously. 
There is not a single piece of armor provided for the 
Christian's back. We are to face the enemy, and only as 
we "resist the devil" will he "flee from us." We are 
not on dress parade but in active service. God provides 
the armor but we must put it on and use it. Without ex- 
ertion we can not hope to conquer. There is no victory 
where there is no conflict. There is no crown where there 
is no contest. 

We have an almighty Captain who never lost a battle, 
and whose banner never trailed in the dust of defeat. Be 
strong and of a good courage. If God be for us, who can 
be against us? May you never desert the army of the liv- 
ing God and become a traitor to his holy cause ! 

He that endureth to the end shall be saved. You will 
never be able to say with Paul "I have fought a good fight," 
until you can also say, "I have finished my course." Now 
we have the smoke of battle ; then, the triumphal procession. 
Now we have the sword and spear; then, the wreath and 
crown. Now we have the garment soiled with blood, and 
covered with the dust of the fight ; then, the white robe and 
the shout of conquest. 

Sheathe not your sword ; lay not down your shield ; 
face the foe ; listen to your Captain ; rally round his banner 
with ardor, defend it with zeal, follow it with enthusiasm, 
knowing that if you are faithful unto death, he will give 
you a crown of life. 



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